The Brighton Changemaker
A new column where Benita Matofska talks to inspiring people who are creating an impact . This month , she meets psychotherapist Charlotte Hastings , founder of Therapy Kitchen and Kitchen Sessions , which provides low cost accessible food therapy workshops
Who are you ? A secondary school teacher , specialising in drama with neurodiverse students , turned food psychotherapist . I trained as a therapist and in parallel began teaching cooking in the community . Early on , I realised the impact of working with food and cooking as part of the therapeutic journey and the power of food to heal . Therapy Kitchen ( private practice ) and Kitchen Sessions ( CIC ) were born . What do you do and how do you do it ? I use a mixture of my personal and professional experience as a parent , teacher and psychotherapist who adores good food and learned its value growing up - through my working mum ’ s boil-in-the-bag TV dinners and my traditional grandmother ’ s home cooked - to create food-based , fun , delicious and empowering therapeutic events . I work with family groups , of all ages , in particular people on the margins and those who are financially disenfranchised who wouldn ’ t usually access therapy . The cooking workshops usually take place outside and a meal is made using seasonal and local goods eaten around a campfire . While chopping , prepping and cooking the food , we explore issues such as life changes ( menopause ) health ( such as diabetes ) and mental health ( anxiety , addiction , depression ) or social issues ( loneliness , isolation , low income ). As people are involved in relatively mundane tasks , their eyes on the chopping board or stirring spoon , they can relax and allow their feelings to be shared in the safety and warmth of the kitchen space .
As people engage with this basic creative activity , their sense of inclusion and capability encourages a refreshing sense of calm . From here people have the opportunity to naturally explore their unique human experience with each other . There is also the opportunity to learn about how ingredients work together that has a reflection on how we work with one another , each adding our particular flavour to the whole event and going away with a sense of belonging . Why do you do it ? My upbringing and experience of life have shown me the importance and power of cooking good food that can be shared . Food unites people and I believe this approach is one we need as a global community - to come home to who we are as a species . In a world hurtling along on machine time , with AI type technologies dominating a materialistic , consumerist culture , we need a return to what makes us human . Food is our first taste of love , cooking is our first conversation . By returning to this primary human experience , we may well be able to answer the pressing issues of the day .
What ’ s your mission ? To change the world , one meal at a time . If we reorientate our attention to how we eat , understanding the value of love in our cooking , we can create a paradigm shift from profit to people . What difference do you hope to make ? Enabling people to take responsibility for their welfare , fostering networks of useful exchange within our community that strengthen social bonds . By empowering people ’ s sense of creative confidence we can make healthier life choices , for long term welfare . Tell me about the families you work with the difference you have made to their lives ? I have been working with families from Whitehawk Primary School ( as it was then ) and now Chomp for the last 15 years . These are low income families , who might also be struggling with culinary knowledge , mental and physical health issues . By using cooking as a therapeutic medium , I can offer a wide range of practical interventions that meet people where they are . The idea is to offer preventative social medicine . By that I mean that social networks of support are created in workshops that centre around the campfire inside or outside . While people are doing something practical with food , they will naturally share information and conversation with one another . This gives people a sense of connection and confidence that they can take into life . I ’ ve seen these sessions inspire cooking clubs in people ’ s homes so that each workshop continues to work its magic long after the event . Meals create memories and provide the ongoing ‘ attachment nutrition ’ we need . Food and love make a whole meal . If you could achieve anything in the next 5 years what would it be ? To create ‘ kitchen sessions ’ all over the country that have a life of their own , addressing and responding to the needs of that community , all linked in the overall aim of using food-making as our primary medicine . What is a changemaker and are you one ? A changemaker is someone or something who is able to use the ingredients around them
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We can also do mum and dads hair and can do home visits out of hou creatively to make a difference , to find an applicable solution to current dilemmas , responding to the specific needs of the moment with imagination , compassion and future based thinking . Yes , I do see myself as a changemaker . By cooking a meal that adapts to the specific needs of the moment , I am making change and helping others to do so , one meal at a time . Currently , our attention is being hijacked into the external , commercial world - through Kitchen Sessions , I want to empower people to find their ability to change , and unleash the potential for healing and nourishment within the individual and the community at large . Describe the world you want to create through food therapy . I ’ d like to create a world where people understand the value of their personal potential , the essential magic of community and cooperation that is at the heart of being human . Here we can shift our focus from profit first to people first . We ’ ve lost ourselves in consumption . The world I ’ d like to help create is one where we shift from external , extrinsic and mechanised concerns , to internal , intrinsic and natural , human needs . How can people find out more / get in touch ? www . therapykitchen . co . uk ( private practice ) kitchensessions . org CIC gives a flavour of my work . I ’ m on Insta @ therapy . kitchen and I always love to hear from you !
l Benita Matofska is a speaker , sustainability consultant and author of Generation Share
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