Tel: 0114 2812143
Community Cookery School
Our Community Cookery School is a welcoming, hands-on learning space based within our professional catering facilities. Designed to support low-income families and individuals, the school provides practical skills, nutritional knowledge, and access to affordable ingredients — empowering people to cook healthy, delicious meals with confidence.
What We Offer
-
Hands-On Cooking Workshops: Participants learn by doing. Our interactive sessions cover essential cooking techniques, meal planning, food safety, and how to prepare balanced meals from scratch. Every workshop is practical, supportive, and designed for all skill levels.
-
Healthy Eating & Nutritional Education: We provide clear, accessible guidance on nutrition, helping families understand how to create healthy, balanced meals on a budget. Sessions include label reading, portion guidance, and practical tips for reducing sugar, salt, and processed foods.
-
Budgeting & Meal Planning Skills: We teach simple strategies for shopping smart, planning affordable weekly meals, reducing food waste, and making the most of seasonal ingredients — helping families stretch their budgets without compromising on nutrition.
-
Access to Affordable Ingredients: Through partnerships with local suppliers, food banks, and community gardens, we help participants access fresh, affordable produce. Where possible, ingredients used in workshops are provided to take home, encouraging continued learning in participants’ own kitchens.
Working Together to Tackle Food Insecurity
We collaborate with local food banks, community gardens, and grassroots organisations to address food insecurity in a practical and sustainable way. By combining access to ingredients with education and skill-building, we move beyond emergency food provision toward long-term resilience.
Promoting Sustainable Food Practices
Sustainability is central to our approach. We encourage the use of seasonal produce, reduction of food waste, and environmentally responsible cooking practices. Through our community partnerships, we also promote local food growing and sustainable sourcing.
Our Community Cookery School is more than a place to learn recipes — it’s a space where confidence grows, skills are shared, and communities come together around good food.
​
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR UPCOMING EVENTS/WORKSHOPS
COMMUNITY KITCHEN
We want to know if you would get involved in any of the following:
​
- A community Bake Off competition.
- A community Master Chef competition
- A community Junior Master Chef competition
- Events where you can bring your kids to the kitchen and cook as a family with help from a chef
- A Women's Support Kitchen - prepare and cook food together while supporting each other over personal challenges
- Cultural Cuisine Exchange - bring your family recipe to the kitchen and share great food together
- Young Chef Training - learn new skills from top chefs which you could take to your own restaurants
- Any other ideas you may have for using our Community Kitchen
​
What do you think? Let us know. Would you like to get involved in any of the above? Do you have other ideas on how we can bring the community together round the kitchen to share food?
What can we do to promote healthy eating and healthy lifestyles for all of our generations?
​
We can't wait to hear from you all.
ELLESMERE CHILDREN'S CENTRE AND CORONAVIRUS
​Ellesmere Children’s Centre is doing all it can to continue providing the essential childcare services to families. We are constantly keeping up to date with the advice from Government and other bodies to ensure that all our children, staff and visitors to the centre are kept safe.
​We are taking a positive approach to providing our services and making sure all health and safety procedures, guidelines and advice is followed. Until we are told that we cannot open, then we will continue to provide childcare services for anyone that needs them.
If you find your regular provider can no longer look after your children, and your child and your family is fit and healthy, then please contact us to see if we can help.
​
These are very difficult times for us all and we need to stand strong together to help each other. There are some very vulnerable people in our communities, please consider how you can help them so we can all get through this unprecedented challenge.
DR. CURTIS IS FINALIST IN INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN AWARDS
​
We are totally delighted to announce that our very own Dr. Sharon Curtis has been selected as a finalist in the Inspirational Women of Sheffield Awards.
Sharon is one of three women nominated for the Mary Ann Rawson Award for Education and will be attending the awards ceremony to be held on International Women's Day, Sunday 8th March 2020 at the Kenwood Hall Hotel & Spa.
​
We wish her good luck and will be keeping our fingers crossed on the day.
PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
​
Ellesmere Children's Centre is engaging in a consultation with parents, carers, pre-school care providers and schools from across South Yorkshire about how best to support children with emotional, social and behavioural needs.
​
The consultation is taking the form of an open forum event at Ellesmere Children's Centre's new play therapy centre called Emosi, on December 7th 2019 between 12noon and 2pm.
​
The event is open to South Yorkshire schools, parents and carers, pre-school nursery professionals working alongside social care and voluntary sector organisations working with children and families experiencing social, behavioural and communication challenges. The aim is to gather and share views on support available to those children.
​
ECC has also created a number of online surveys designed for each of the audiences it wants to engage with during the consultation - there are links to those below.
​
Online survey for parents/carers HERE.
​
Online survey for pre-school care providers HERE.
​
Online survey for schools HERE.
​
To book your place for the open forum and or to reserve a childcare place while you attend the Open Forum, please call Ellesmere Children's Centre on 0114 281 2143.
​
Ellesmere Children's Centre is at 4 Maxwell Street, Sheffield, S4 7JN.
​
CONGRATULATIONS SHARON
We were delighted to see Dr. Sharon Curtis be nominated and become a finalist for the Inspirational Women of Sheffield Awards.
Unfortnately, Sharon did not win the education category, losing out to very worthy winner, Fir Vale School's Headteacher Rachel Smith, but we are very proud of her for reaching the Final.
WE HAD A VISIT FROM THE MAYOR OF SHEFFIELD
​
We were delighted to receive a visit from the Mayor of Sheffield, Cllr Tony Dowling today.
He came to find out about the ways in which we help our children to develop and see for himself the lovely facilities we have at Ellesmere Children's Centre and Emosi.
After meeting and singing with the children and touring the centre, we chatted with him over coffee and sandwiches, when he had this to say:
​
"I am very impressed with what has been done here at Ellesmere Children’s Centre and Emosi, it's a fantastic facility where the children are clearly very happy. The new Emosi Centre for play therapy is wonderful and really needs to be supported and used for professional and community purposes."
​
The Mayor was presented with a bunch of flowers for the Lady Mayoress who could not attend, by Sahib Hussain, who is seen being a bit shy in the photo.
ESSENTIAL TRAINING COURSES FOR EARLY YEARS PRACTITIONERS
​
Over the coming months we are hosting a series of essential training workshops for practitioners in the Early Years sector.
LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO HOLD A CLASS OR WORKSHOP?
​
Are you looking for a place to hold a health, fitness or therapy class?
Then why not book one of our newly refurbished rooms upstairs at the centre? Spacious, quiet and warm, they are the perfect space for a wide range of workshops and activities.
​
We also have large rooms available that are perfect for holding birthday parties, celebration events and other social activities such as group meetings and drama rehearsals.
​
Pop in today and have a look round, we'll be glad to see you. Otherwise, phone us on 0114 281 2143 to discuss what we have available.