Meet David

February 5, 2025

vets lined up at kitchens cooking

Wiggly ran a four week course working with veterans from the Alabare charity who house and support veterans at risk of becoming homeless at Imjin House in Gloucester.

The group cooked for three weeks at our Westgate Street kitchens before preparing a celebration meal for their housemates on week four at Imjin House.

One of the group was facing challenges with alcohol use and struggled with course attendance.

Of the others in the group, one man “David”, lacked confidence and had been written off by his peers as “useless” and unlikely to achieve anything.   A large man covered in tattoos, David struggled to find his place in the kitchens at first and seemed afraid to try anything in case he got it wrong.   Our Chef gently encouraged David to try out some basic skills.   It emerged that David had never poached an egg before and was afraid to try.    Our Chef reassured him that it didn’t matter if he failed – we had plenty of eggs that he could practice on!   The pride that David showed when he poached an egg successfully was plain to see.  And the rest of the group also reacted differently to him and gave him more respect.

From an outsider’s perspective it can sometimes be hard to understand how something as small as poaching an egg can have such a deep impact.  But the importance of people gaining confidence and pride in learning new skills when they have previously been “written off” by their peers cannot be under-estimated.

Other group members were very keen learners and two will be joining us on our Thriving Communities Winter course to continue their cookery journey.