A cooking program hosted by Dorset Council in Tasmania is encouraging men to become confident in the kitchen.
It takes a lot of courage to say that you can’t cook, but 14 men from Tasmania’s northeast weren’t worried about it.
The men came together as part of a Dorset Council Primary Health initiative aimed at getting men out of their houses and into the kitchen.
Titled the ‘Dorset Men’s Masterclass – No Rules, No Recipes’, men aged 18 to 80 signed up for something a ‘little different’.
Coming from all ages and walks of life, the men were led by northeast icon Craig ‘Ned’ Williams from Pepper Bush Adventures in a five-week program aimed at teaching them some basic skills in the preparation and cooking of simple and healthy meals.
Based at the Scottsdale Football Clubrooms, the 14-strong crew learnt to make a whole range of things, from the best scones, jam and cream you’ve ever tasted to main meals that would be the envy of any restaurateur.
“Some of these men haven’t really been able to cook a meal for a variety of reasons, so we thought this would be a great way to get a wide range of guys who are socially disengaged together to learn to cook and to enjoy one another’s company,” said Dorset Primary Health Care Coordinator Nicole Grose.
‘No Rules, No Recipes’ was aimed at breaking down the barriers for men regardless of literacy levels, social circumstances and confidence and teach them how easy it is to create a nutritious meal using seasonal produce at a very low cost and, as the name says, there was no need to follow rules or recipes to create a delicious meal.
The grand finale for the Dorset Men’s Masterclass was a four-course sit down lunch for around 60 invited guests, including Mayor Greg Howard.
Starting with canapés, guests then had a sumptuous soup, a ‘cocky’s trifecta’, followed by a wonderful desert.
“This is a fantastic concept and the end result was very tasty indeed,” said Dorset Mayor Greg Howard.
The health and wellbeing of Dorset residents is extremely important to Council, and this initiative is just the start to providing opportunities for people to make healthier choices.
Future sessions will have a focus on diabetes, heart health and other chronic conditions.
This project was a huge success and there is already a waiting list for the next one.
Most of the men didn’t know each other prior to the masterclass but now they are mates and have even organised a “foody” bus trip
for September.
