Newham charity Community Links is hoping to recruit budding chefs at a series of cooking classes to be run throughout the borough.

Residents will have the chance to learn healthy cooking as part of the ‘Let’s get cooking’ project run by local charity Community Links, and funded by the health lottery. The newly-trained chefs, who have been through professional training over the summer, will run eight-week courses for residents, teaching about health and nutrition, cooking skills, budgeting and cooking cheaply.

The ten new ‘cooking demonstrators’ are volunteers from Community Links’ five community hubs. Over the summer they gave Community Links staff and children a taster of what’s to come, with a delicious four course meal of healthy food, including soup, curry and fruit smoothies. They will launch classes in each Community Hub towards the end of September, and are recruiting now.

The courses are free, you can take home everything you make and all the ingredients will be provided. The project is particularly aimed at men aged 20-40, but any enthusiastic wannabe cooks will be welcome.

The classes will be held at:

*Rokeby Hub, Stratford: Every Tuesday 10:00 - 1:00 starting September 25. Phone 0208 555 3125

*Play Sow and Grow, Stratford: Every Thursday, 10:00 - 12:00, starting October 4. Phone 0208 522 7337

*Chandos Hub, Stratford: Every Friday, 12.00 - 2.30, start date to be confirmed. Phone 0208 221 2137

*Arc in the Park, Canning Town: date and time to be confirmed. Phone 0207 511 4253

*Asta Hub, Royal Docks, date and time to be confirmed. Phone 0207 476 5023