Robert's Story

Robert started attending the beginners men’s cookery classes in East Finchley after his daughter Lucy urged him to go

‘He really wasn’t keen at first – I have to push hard to get him to do anything. My dad had to give up work about year ago because he was seriously ill.  Although he’s ok now, it had been hard to get him to go out and I was worried he was going to get stuck in his ways.

'He tried an IT session, but that didn’t work for him. After a lot of persuading he reluctantly agreed to go along to the men’s cookery class. And he was so glad he did. I’ve never seen him enjoy anything so much.

'It wasn’t just the cooking, it was having lunch together and chatting and getting to know the other people that he loved.

'And this has now opened up a whole new world to him – he now volunteers for a homeless shelter and has given him the confidence to try out new things. We have seen such a huge difference to his confidence since starting the course and we are all very grateful.’