CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A collection of cooking videos designed to help people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities was launched at Tremploy this week.
The series, entitled Let’s Get Cooking, takes viewers through the preparation of the dishes with step-by-step instructions.
The project was a partnership between Public Health Office of the P.E.I. Department of Health and Wellness, the P.E.I. Association of Community Living, Tremploy and Canada’s Smartest Kitchen, the research and development arm of the Culinary Institute of Canada. Sobeys and G. Wooldridge Art provided gifts in kind of grocery gift cards and artwork for the accompanying recipe cards respectively.
Tremploy clients were involved in the project from start to finish. They helped identify the dishes they would like to prepare, shopped for the groceries and participated in the preparation of the dishes on camera. The videos were created in Canada’s Smartest Kitchen under the supervision of a CSK chef to ensure that the food handling and preparation were safe and appropriate.
Funding for a human services student to work on the project was provided by the college’s President’s Innovation Fund.
Holland College president Sandy MacDonald said the videos will be a valuable resource.
“The video cookbook series will make a meaningful contribution to our community by promoting healthy eating. It is of critical importance that we continue to promote independent living by offering an opportunity for individuals to develop or enhance their ability to purchase and prepare healthy, affordable meals.”
Julie Smith, executive director of the P.E.I. Association of Community Living, said the value of the videos goes beyond the obvious benefits.
‘We believe this resource will develop opportunities for individuals to build a real sense of pride, independence and interest in creating healthy meals to bring to the dinner table, not only for themselves, but those they live with," she said.
Joel Dennis, executive director of Tremploy, agreed, noting the importance of the engagement with participants throughout the various stages of the project.
The Let’s Get Cooking videos are available on the P.E.I. Association for Community Living website. To see the videos and download the recipes, go to peiacl.org/lets-get-cooking/.
