Cordon Bleu Chef to Launch Community Cookery School and Café

A community cookery school and café, led by a Cordon Bleu chef, is set to launch, offering families instruction on economical healthy eating and preparing meals with fresh ingredients. Chef Taz Khan MBE, who established the zero-waste food charity London’s Community Kitchen, plans to inaugurate the Grand Union Hub early next year. This facility will be located within the Grand Union development in Alperton, situated near Wembley in north London. Students from the College of North West London in Brent will manage the café, providing them with employment and training. All profits generated by the hub will be channeled back into the charity to support its initiatives concerning zero-waste food systems and addressing food insecurity. Mr. Khan stated that establishing this venue would enable London’s Community Kitchen to persist in its efforts to divert food from landfills and distribute it to areas where residents face food insecurity or do not have dependable access to nutritious, affordable, and healthy provisions. The charity currently diverts approximately 75 tonnes of food that would otherwise go to landfill, assisting 25,000 individuals weekly. It also conducts community courses for over 2,000 people and creates employment pathways for around 500 additional individuals. Mr Khan said: “We currently run the largest single-day food operation near Alperton on Wembley Road helping around 1,000 families every single Saturday, many of which join our short-term cookery courses, and so it is important for us to have a permanent base here.” The hub was donated to the community, with its management entrusted to the Grand Union Development Trust, another charitable organization. This trust will supervise the initiative in collaboration with developers St George. The trust’s formation aimed to foster stronger communities throughout Alperton and Brent, simultaneously offering venues for individuals to connect, acquire new abilities, socialize, and enjoy themselves. Brian Wilson, the trust’s chair, stated: “The Grand Union Community Hub plays a key role in making this happen, and forms part of St George’s shared commitment in regenerating and improving the area by merging the existing and new communities. “Taz and his team share our vision for creating a really exciting, community-focused neighbourhood at Grand Union and we can’t wait for them to get started.”