Exciting new culinary class at Stowmarket Museum

In the heart of Suffolk, find The Museum of East Anglian Life, an open-air museum which is an independent educational charity.

The museum has been around for just over 50 years, and tells the stories of East Anglia’s past through historic buildings, a 75-acre estate, animals, gardens and a collection of 40,000 objects. The collection aims to inspire people to engage and understand where their food comes from as well as how it’s produced and consumed.

Open for exercise
Although the Museum of East Anglian Life is currently closed to adhere to the Government’s lockdown rules, the site is pleased to share that its grounds are still open to locals for public use.

The grounds are home to friendly animals, beautiful trees, plants and flowers, exciting nature trials and, of course, some of East Anglia’s most historic buildings.

Or, if you fancy dusting off your trainers and going for a quick jog to blow away the lockdown cobwebs, challenge yourself to the museum’s Lockdown Fitness Challenge. A dedicated 1km jogging route has been carefully mapped through the grounds, to help you get fit, healthy and outdoors. The jogging route can be downloaded at eastanglianlife.org.uk/museum-update.

Entrance to the grounds is free for non-members on weekdays between 12-2pm or between 10am4pm at weekends. Grounds are open to members between 10am4pm every day.

The Skills Kitchen
The Museum of East Anglian Life will soon be launching a new training programme, The Skills Kitchen, which will introduce participants to the wide variety of work and roles that exist within the food industry.

In hosting The Skills Kitchen, the museum is sharing its specialist knowledge with people who are interested in gaining a better understanding of food production and food culture. The four-month course helps learners take their next steps in their training, studying or career, through weekly sessions which explore the range of skills needed in different areas of the sector.

The programme will feature Head down to The Museum of East Anglian Life to explore the historic grounds, get your daily exercise or enrol in the interesting new training programme. “expert” talks and local site visits, where participants will listen to and meet professionals who have careers in the Suffolk food industry. Participants will discover the different paths available to them and the skills needed for the work they wish to pursue.

The Skills Kitchen will teach participants how to cook food from a range of cultures and cuisines, whilst at the same time building their own portfolio of transferable skills. Learners will be exposed to a number of hands-on tasks which are fun and educational, such as how to use a pizza oven.

Each learner will also be allocated a mentor for the duration of the programme who will support them with career advice and assist with articulating future goals. A focus session educating learners on the skills needed to work in a business, as well as promoting team activities to build interpersonal and communication skills will also be included in the course.

Jenny Cousins, director of Museum of East Anglian Life, says: “We are looking forward to working with participants on The Skills Kitchen project and creating opportunities for their ongoing development within the food industry in Suffolk.” The programme starts in April 2021, although participants must be enrolled by Friday, February 26, 2021.

The course will hold sessions one day per week, will have no fees attached and is open to people who are unemployed and aged over 16 years. Assistance may be available with travel costs and/or childcare if needed. If you or someone you know is interested in taking part in this programme, please email sally.dix@eastanglianlife.org.uk or call on 01449 612229 for an informal chat and details of the application process. Alternatively, more information about the programme is available at www.eastanglianlife.org.uk/theskillskitchen