Tesco are launching a cooking school with Jamie Oliver to teach community organisations how to prepare surplus food.
Dubbed The Tesco Community Cookery School with Jamie Oliver, the programme will train cooks who work at community centres on providing tastier and more nutritious meals from food donations.
The scheme was developed with FareShare, a food waste redistribution group, which collects leftover food from suppliers across the country. Cooks will learn everything from knife skills to recipes for base sauces.
Training will be free and attendees receive free cooking equipment and a folder featuring Oliver’s food surplus recipes.
Since 2016 Tesco has donated 300,000 meals of surplus food to over 7,000 different community and charity groups.
Jamie Oliver said: “It’s fantastic to join the work that Tesco and FareShare are doing to reduce food waste. I’ve written these recipes to arm all those amazing community cooks with the tools to create something delicious and balanced for people who need it the most.
“It is all about giving otherwise-wasted ingredients some love, and transforming them into tasty, nutritious meals. For me, every dish we cook that reduces food waste is a winner!”
The cookery school will launch at the Goodinge Community Centre, in Islington, London, on Thursday 24 January, with the programme rolling out across the UK throughout the year.
Tesco CEO Dave Lewis added: “Surplus food donations can make a huge difference to people in need, but can also create challenges for community cooks faced with unexpected, unusual or large volumes of a particular product.
“With Jamie’s help, we believe we can inspire, train and support charities to do even more with the donations they receive. Together, we can bring tasty and nutritious food to more people, in communities right across the UK.”
