The best cookery classes with a social mission in Manchester ft. Heart and Parcel, the Vegetarian Society & more

Learn from the experts in plant-based food at the Vegetarian Society’s Altrincham cookery school. Classes can be taken in-person or online, no matter what your ability may be. With years of experience and expert tutors, these classes are the best place to learn how to make the tastiest vegetarian and vegan food, develop your cooking skills and have loads of fun!

There’s also a social mission behind the classes, and when you buy one for yourself, you’re helping to fund another for someone else. The money you spend allows the Vegetarian Society to hold free classes for community groups such as young carers, people who have experienced domestic abuse and those who have struggled with their mental health.

No matter what you cook – just showing up is already helping to make a huge difference amongst the local community. From a ‘Forage and Cook’ and Indian street food class, to whole sessions on tofu alone – there’s plenty to pick from. Whether you’d like to learn more about plant-based food, are a life-long veggie or vegan or just want a new, exciting experience, they’ve got you covered.

Why not learn how to bake your own bread, or roll your own sushi, all whilst championing sustainability and fighting food poverty at the same time?

Driven by their belief that EVERYONE deserves a good meal, Cracking Good Food’s mission is simple: to work collaboratively with others to eradicate food poverty and increase food sustainability in Greater Manchester. They seek to enthuse, encourage, and teach individuals and groups how to source and cook affordable, healthy and tasty food from scratch, whilst minimising food waste and our environmental impact.

A eclectic mix of cuisines are covered in the upcoming schedule, ranging from a gluten-free ‘Flour Power’ session, to Nepalese, Vietnamese and even a vegan Christmas banquet. Cook along with the community while helping support the fight for food security across Greater Manchester.

Manchester Youth Zone runs structured cooking programmes for schools, colleges, and charities working with young people. These programmes go into great detail about nutrition and food hygiene, and also build up important skills like teamwork, time management and self-reliance between the participants. There is also an opportunity for young people to work towards a Level 1 and Level 2 AQA in subjects such as Food Preparation, Nutrition, Customer Service and more. These are formal qualifications which can be included on a young person’s CV and can be used when applying for further education courses.

Not only do the cooking sessions help equip young people with fundamental experience and useful skills, but the classes also teach how to hygienically prepare and cook healthy, nutritious hot meals and desserts in a positive and welcoming environment.

If you work with young people and would like to get involved in such a brilliant project – check out the link below.

4Lunch delivers a wide range of cookery courses and classes for all ages and abilities, improving the health and wellbeing of Greater Manchester communities and enabling participants to learn how to prepare, cook and enjoy good food in an even better environment.

With an ethos of mental wellbeing at their forefront, the courses explore the link between food, nutrition and mental health. Workshop themes include Energy and Sleep, Memory and Concentration, Ways to De-stress and Wellbeing Support. 4Lunch also delivers courses exploring how to eat well on a budget with workshops about store cupboard essentials, useful spices and ‘Around the World for £5’.

4Lunch also encourages participants how to be more environmentally conscious, explaining how we can reduce household food waste—and save money—with tips on simple storage, food labelling, portioning, loving leftovers and planning meals.