Catering firm’s charity collaboration is a recipe for success

Catering and events company The Butler’s Pantry will be teaching vital life and employability skills to groups of young people who are supported by Safe and Sound as part of the charity’s expanded youth activities programme.

The Burnaston-based firm’s head chef Ralph Skripek will work with the young people, aged seven to 16, in his professional kitchen.

Having taught them basic skills, the young people will then be able to prepare their own dishes to take home for the whole family to enjoy.

Helen Skripek, events manager at Butler’s Pantry, said: “Learning to cook from scratch is an important life skill for everyone and it is great to have the opportunity to work with Safe and Sound to introduce these skills at an early age.

“Creating and serving a dish for the first time is hugely empowering and a great confidence booster.

“We also employ a lot of young people in our events team, and this will be a great opportunity to introduce them to the jobs that are available in the catering and hospitality industry.”

Tracy Harrison, chief executive of Safe and Sound, which supports children, young people and their families across Derbyshire who are victims of or at risk of child exploitation, said the cookery workshops were part of an extended programme of positive youth activities for young people.

She said: “We have recently welcomed an experienced youth worker to the team who is developing an expanded activities programme.

“Our objective is to engage and embrace our young people’s eagerness to learn new skills, make new friends and bring positivity into their lives as they rebuild from negative and traumatic experiences.

“Learning to cook from scratch is an important life skill – particularly in these challenging times with the cost of living rising so dramatically.

“I hope it will also encourage them to cook more at home with their families and potentially broaden their horizons to think about future careers in this industry.

“We are very much looking forward to working with Butler’s Pantry on a wide range of programmes in the future and are grateful for their commitment to supporting young people and families in our local communities.”