Welcome to the Winter 2024/2025 issue of What’s Cooking. This issue highlights the link between food and health, especially allergies.
In the What’s Cooking Big Interview, Master Peter Kenyon shares how his family adapts to coeliac and gluten-free diets, as well as his priorities for his term in office, his background and interests.
A study in The Lancet Public Health Journal showed that food allergies in England doubled from 2008 to 2018, noting that children who skip breakfast lack nutrients and struggle to learn. Freeman David Mulcahy saw this firsthand in his recent trip to Gambia.
Our special focus on public sector catering, features the Chef competitions in the NHS, Care Sector, and Schools sectors. In each, the importance of dietary needs, taste, appearance, texture, nutrient content, innovation, and skill is to the fore, and shows why the Worshipful Company of Cooks’ support is crucial.
Likewise, our coverage of the Craft Guild of Chefs’ competitions shows that chefs are tested on allergens, dietary needs, sustainability, waste, carbon footprint, and seasonality, as well as culinary prowess, innovation, and creativity.
Elsewhere, the Late Master provides a whistlestop tour of his year as Master and we catch up on what has been happening under the auspices of the Assistance of Cookery Committee, particularly the Cooks’ Apprenticeship, and the Chef Management Development Programme.
The work of the Cooks Charity is centre stage, with an annual review of the grants given to worthy projects and an introduction to the members of the Trustees Advisory Panel who have the task of reviewing applications, advising the Trustees on which projects to support, and monitoring and reporting on progress.
I hope you enjoy the read. Please provide feedback, ideas for future issues, or other comments via my email on the members’ section of the website.
