Four young women smiled for the camera while proudly clutching certificates they earned after attending a seven-week cookery course funded by Oxfordshire Learning Network. The aim of the course, which took place at a smart refurbished kitchen in the Kidlington Baptist Church, was to provide the women with basic cookery skills, or extend their skill base.

They also gained a Chartered Institute of Environment Health Level 2 Award in food safety in Catering, which provides them all with a qualification should they wish to work in the food industry.

The practical cookery sessions were conducted by Joy Webb, retired food safety officer from Cherwell District Council and Wendy Kingsbeer, health improvement and strategy officer at Cherwell District Council.

Wendy explained that they could have run larger classes as there is a great call for cookery courses such as this, but by working with just four young women at a time, they can really concentrate on their needs.

“Some just lack the confidence needed to cook food from scratch; others need to be shown the basic skills required to cook for a family. Others had specific nutritional needs. Take Elizabeth Willis, for example, she had been struggling to cook wholesome meals for her husband who is a coeliac.”

Wendy went on to say that some had children who were faddy, so they had to find simple, nutritious recipes that we thought their children would be tempted to try.

The course also helped mothers whose children were obese and who needed to learn how to cook healthier food that would help them lose weight.

Joy said that two mothers in the first group were keen to improve the diets of their children suffering Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

In other words, all the women who have attended these courses had particular needs, which is why the Oxfordshire course leaders developed a programme based on Jamie Oliver’s Ministry of Food. They called their course Ministry of Cooking.

The great thing about this idea is that it seems to have worked very well and addressed a real need within the community.

The four women who received their awards last week were overjoyed to have completed the course satisfactorily and gained much-needed skills Huyen Luc had joined the group because she wanted to know how to cook British recipes. She said: “My husband was getting tired of me serving rice with everything. Now I am cooking him shepherd’s pie, casseroles and cakes.”

When Elizabeth Willis attended the first course and announced that her husband was a coeliac both Joy and Wendy had a problem.

Those suffering this disease are intolerant to gluten — commonly found in rye, wheat and barley — which means they can’t eat bread, cakes or other food created from flour milled from these grains. Sauces, casseroles and soups thickened with flour must be excluded from their diets; so, too, fish fried in batter. Coeliacs can suffer if the merest dusting of flour lands accidentally on a dish for them.

Wendy and Joy had to do some quick thinking when they were told this, as several dishes cooked during the session called for flour.

“We managed it, but it’s only when you are confronted by a problem like this that you realise just how much flour goes into an average meal. Even the shepherd’s pie, which the women loved making, is thickened with a spoonful of flour,” she said.

But not all the foods prepared from grains contain gluten; they were able to show Elizabeth how to incorporate rice, corn, buckwheat, millet and oats into her meals and use potatoes to thicken savoury dishes.

Elizabeth said that the course had made a great difference to her life. Buying ready-made gluten-free food was proving expensive. Now she has the confidence to cook tasty gluten-free meals.

Iona Wiggins joined the group because she is now cooking for one-year old twins and three other children under seven. She says that there came a point where she lost her confidence cooking from scratch for her growing family, so until the course she too was reaching for ready meals. Wendy and Jo have helped her no end, coming up with nutritious meals her family will enjoy that are easy and quick to prepare.

Unfortunately, funding to keep these courses going has run out and until they can find more sponsors the lovely new kitchen at the Kidlington Baptist Church will stand idle. Sara Keppie, from Kaleidoscope Children’s Centre, who helped promote the course, said: “These courses have proved so positive. We have loads of other women who would like to learn basic cooking skills. All we need now is more funding.”

If you think you can help, please contact Sara on 01865 372591.