Westfield has entered into a national partnership with Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food campaign which aims to teach people how to cook nutritious and tasty food with fresh ingredients.

It means that Westfield shopping centres across the UK will now be supporting the work of existing and future Ministries of Food by hosting demonstrations and cookery sessions.

The initiative began shortly after the launch of Westfield Stratford City in an area where a Ministry of Food team is already active and offering outreach lessons.

Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food Centres have already proved a huge success in Rotherham, Bradford, Leeds and the North-East where classes are booked up many weeks in advance. Each is run by local people trained by Jamie’s team and who can then pass on their cooking knowledge in a welcoming and friendly way. The courses are designed to accessible and enjoyable even for people with no cooking knowledge.

Myf Ryan, General Manager Marketing at Westfield said: “With food and dining a key offer across all of Westfield’s shopping centres, the partnership with Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food was a natural fit to introduce communities across the country to great food at home. Westfield already has a successful relationship with the Jamie Oliver Group through its Jamie’s Italian restaurant collection, which has branches at Westfield London and Westfield Stratford City, so the partnership with Ministry of Food is very exciting.”

Jamie Oliver said: “Ministry of Food Centres are so successful wherever they open and I’m delighted that Westfield will be helping us. The feedback from people who have been through the Ministry of Food course is always positive – they’ve been saving money by buying fresh food instead of ready meals; they’ve been losing weight; they’ve been feeling more fulfilled, and in many cases, they’ve made good mates with other people on the course.”