Community Cafe Takeover

The Community Cafe Takeover invites young people behind the scene to whip up delicious meals in a professional kitchen, learning about food hygiene, safety, and the secrets of tasty, nutritious dishes.

Over the course of five days, small groups of young chefs took part in a wide variety of kitchen duties. From cooking up healthy meals to planning menus and prepping for the epic Cafe Takeover event.

The young chefs not only cooked up scrumptious treats for the public but also provided free meals for those in need. It’s a day of teamwork, skill-sharing, and making a real difference in their community.

Through attendance at the project young people have

• developed practical cooking skills in the kitchen
• learnt about using leftover ingredients or surplus donated food and how to make it into a meal
• menu planning skills
• basic food hygiene within a commercial kitchen
• being a barista and using the coffee-making machine
• being a part of an event to feed the local community within the cafe takeover day

Following involvement in this project, some young people have been taken on as staff within the kitchen catering for events, weddings and other occasions.