Stan About Town – Leeds Cookery School

I recently called at Leeds Cookery School to have a chat with Simon Chappelow, who possesses the title Zest Food Project Coordinator. We first met when I was covering an event in York in 2019 at which they were presented with a Yorkshire Food Award and again a couple of months later when I went to partake in one of their courses for Leeds Indie Food Festival. This is much more than a cookery school though, it is a social enterprise operated by Zest to whom all of the profits are donated.

The school is based in the Old Gipton Fire Station on York Road and operates courses for all abilities covering a range of styles but they also run them for those with no abilities at all. Simon told me about the classes aimed at men who are suddenly living alone and unable to manage for themselves so exist on a diet of processed foods and take-aways. They also operate the Jamie’s Ministry of Food branch in Leeds Kirkgate Market in order to deliver cooking programmes and hands-on food preparation for everybody.

I was surprised to learn that there is a difference of 10 years in the life expectancy of someone living in the more deprived areas of Leeds compared with those in the more affluent suburbs. It is obvious that there would be a gap but a decade is a veritable chasm.

Gipton Fire Station is also home to a community cafe with the coolest interior decorated with fireabelia, I just made that word up, donated by visitors, usually in the form of model fire engines but there is a vintage pump which takes pride of place. This is run by Slate Community Project and not only acts as a cafe, hence a meeting place for the more isolated in the area, but collects and redistributes unwanted furniture to those in need.

Should tea, coffee or food not be your thing then there is an area round the back called Space 2 where any available plot of land not under tarmac, has been utilised to allow locals to cultivate a bit of it for themselves and others. There was a patch of pumpkins and a cracking crop of tomatoes ripening. Other areas contained beans and lavender, not together you understand. The beds were immaculate. This particular part was made possible by the local industrialist and millionaire, Jimi Heselden, who was tragically killed in an accident in 2010. He was born and brought up in the area and very generous in trying to improve the lot of those who live there.

Somewhere like this could easily have an air of despair about it but not so here, everything is upbeat and positive. When I had been given the grand tour by Simon he invited me to participate in that evening’s cookery course, A Taste of Mexico, and it was a blast. Everyone I met was smiling and couldn’t have been more accommodating, the only exception being the less-than-talkative chap guarding the fire pump!

Should you wish to have a look at what is on offer at Leeds Cookery School please go to leedscookeryschool.org.uk. To learn more about Zest it is zestleeds.org.uk and for Jamie’s Ministry of Food jamiesministryoffood.com/locations and oneyouleeds.co.uk/cook-well