*This article was co-written by Cook Up manager Aqeelah Malek.
Since September 2023 we have had five families move on from Cook Up as they had moved into accommodation with a kitchen. In the majority of cases, these were families seeking asylum who had had their asylum claim accepted. Many of them had been living in hotels for extended periods of time, unable to work and without a space to cook for their families. It has been good to see families finally able to begin their lives in the UK.
While we feel relieved for participants, we recognise that the moment at which people are recognised as refugees can be extremely difficult. They are given much less than the 56 days homelessness protection owed to people by Local Authorities under Homelessness Reduction Act to move on from their Home Office accommodation (source). In less than two months, they must apply for Universal Credit (UC), find work and find new accommodation. Even when they are in receipt of UC, the rise in the cost of living means that having the opportunity to cook meals to cover even a few days of the week can make a significant difference.
In the end, all Cook Up participants, without exception, voluntarily offered their space in the kitchen to others in the same situation they used to be in. Their empathy and generosity have made a deep impression on us. Often, people seeking asylum are portrayed as victims in a hopeless situation, completely reliant on charity, unable to do anything for themselves or others. Our experience with Cook Up participants defies these stereotypes.
There is a shared sense of responsibility for Cook Up. We never ask people to tidy the kitchen, for example, we have a team there to help out and staff at the community centre. Yet in most cases, people do this anyway. We recently did a trial session at a new kitchen in Hackney where we had to leave the kitchen as we found it. We were a bit nervous about keeping to time though we needn’t have been as everyone who could help clean the kitchen at the end did and we left with 20 minutes to spare.
Another example: We don’t compel participants to socialise or share food. If people want to keep to themselves that is completely fine. But most of the time, people choose to share food with others. Often, people who have been attending Cook Up for longer will help newer members find their way around the kitchen.
Participants often express their gratitude to us, which we really appreciate, but we try to emphasise that access to a kitchen and home-cooked food is a right and Cook Up does not exist without them. In an ideal world it wouldn’t have to exist at all. People stuck in the immigration system, including those claiming asylum, just want to get on with their lives, and an important part of this process is preparing food, sharing meals and getting on with others – normal routines we do everyday. Last year alone, according to a Freedom of Information request made by the Guardian, there were 463 recorded complaints about inedible food in temporary accommodation. Cook Up provides people with a space to do something fundamental they should be able to do anyway, to support themselves and support their families. At the same time we hope they feel welcome and part of a community.
Our learning builds a case for a kitchen-first approach for people within the asylum system. We would like to see shared kitchens in temporary accommodation or access to community kitchens facilitated by local councils or the Home Office. We need a more human approach, not the prison-like environment we have at the moment,. We would like policy and practice matched up to a system where housing and food are adequate, and where people have some degree of autonomy, starting with the food they make for themselves and their families.