Gastronomy Plus, home to Delivita, Kasai, Bertha, Kitchen Knives, Sous Vide Tools and Cinders, was immensely proud to be part of the Lancashire launch of Prept at Northcote on Monday the 28th September. The event brought together a diverse group of people and organisations from across the county around a shared ambition: giving young people practical skills, confidence and opportunities that can stay with them for life.
Prept is a charity helping children and young people build a healthier relationship with food through practical cooking experiences. Working with schools and communities, its chefs help young people understand ingredients, prepare meals and discover the wider opportunities that food and hospitality can offer.
The launch marked an important milestone in a journey that began for Gastronomy Plus when our Managing Director, Alex, first met Dan and heard the story behind Prept, its ambitions and the difference it could make to young people.
Dan’s vision immediately resonated with us.
As a business rooted in food and hospitality, we naturally recognise the importance of inspiring the next generation and showing young people the breadth of careers available within the industry. Through Delivita and Kasai, we encourage people to explore what they can cook and enjoy making and sharing food. Supporting Prept extends that belief to the next generation.
But the value of Prept goes far beyond creating a pathway into hospitality.
Skills that stay with you
At its simplest, being able to cook means being able to feed yourself.
Knowing how to turn ingredients into a nutritious, enjoyable meal is a practical skill that can support independence, confidence and wellbeing throughout a person’s life. It can help young people make their budget go further, use what is available to them, reduce waste and feel more confident looking after themselves and, one day, their own families.
Those skills feel particularly meaningful at a time when many families are facing significant financial pressures. Cooking cannot solve the wider causes of food poverty, but giving young people practical knowledge and confidence around food is something tangible that can stay with them long after they leave school.
Preparing food also creates opportunities to make decisions, solve problems, work together and take pride in something they have made.
For some young people, discovering an enjoyment of cooking may be the first step towards a future career in hospitality, catering or the wider food industry. For others, it may simply mean leaving education knowing how to prepare a meal and confidently feed themselves.
Both outcomes matter.
Investing in Lancashire
We wanted to do more than simply support Prept from the sidelines, so we committed to funding a dedicated Prept educator for Lancashire. This gives the charity the resource to establish its programme in the region, build relationships and take practical cooking experiences directly to young people.
A key part of making that commitment a reality was finding the right person, and we were proud to introduce Jade, who has now taken on the role of Prept’s Lancashire educator.
Finding someone who could understand Dan’s vision and translate it into meaningful, engaging experiences for young people was incredibly important. Jade brings the enthusiasm, experience and ability to connect with people that the role demands. Seeing her now beginning to establish Prept within the region has made our involvement particularly rewarding.
Having a dedicated educator in place also gives the programme continuity, allowing Jade to get to know local schools, understand their needs and develop relationships over time.
Lancashire comes together at Northcote
The launch at Northcote demonstrated just how widely the aims of Prept resonate.
The room brought together representatives from education and hospitality alongside businesses spanning a wide range of sectors, local authority representatives, fellow sponsors and organisations working directly with young people.
That breadth of representation was one of the most powerful aspects of the day.
Prept may use food and cooking as its vehicle, but the skills and conversations it creates reach much further: confidence, independence, creativity, teamwork and exposure to careers and opportunities that young people may never previously have considered.
Creating meaningful opportunities for young people cannot sit with schools alone. It requires education, businesses, local organisations and communities to work together. The launch provided a real sense of what can happen when those different worlds come into the same room with a shared purpose.
Building on that shared ambition
With Jade now in place, the focus turns to building those connections and taking the programme out into schools and communities across Lancashire.
From Alex’s first conversation with Dan to seeing Jade take on the educator role and such a diverse group of organisations come together at Northcote, it has been incredibly rewarding to see that vision becoming a reality.
The launch brought together a community of people who believe that every young person deserves the opportunity to develop practical skills, build confidence and discover what they are capable of.
We are proud to play our part and excited to see what Jade, Dan, Jess and the wider Prept community can build across Lancashire.
Help more young people get cooking
If you’re a Lancashire business interested in supporting Prept, sharing your expertise or exploring a partnership, contact Luke@prept.foundation to find out how you can get involved.
To learn more about the charity’s work or make a donation, visit prept.foundation.
