Parents in Guernsey who attended free cooking classes have discovered a shocking secret: preparing meals from scratch is healthier, cheaper, and doesn't require a culinary degree. The sessions, run by St Martin's Community centre in partnership with the Health Improvement Commission, feature a professional chef teaching parents to cook simple, fresh meals without relying on the convenience of pre-packaged everything.

Parent Laura Weller described the class as a "safe space" to experiment and stop being afraid of healthy cooking. "It's all about convenience," she said, "and this allows me to create something from scratch, with fresh ingredients that I can give my family." Her seven-year-old, presumably, is thrilled.

Alex Kosmas from the Health Improvement Commission acknowledged the struggle: "Parents and carers have a pretty tricky job to get food on the table that is nutritious while balancing busy lives." With the cost-of-living crisis making everything more expensive, he said, "the last thing you probably want to do is start chopping up loads of stuff." So the solution is to make healthy cooking as painless as possible.

Chef lecturer Rivelino Rodriguez taught the class to make a stir fry that cost just £2 per portion. He emphasized that the project provides "inspiration for cheap adaptable meals that taste good without all the additives and preservatives found in ready-made foods." Plus, if kids see their parents cooking, they might actually want to try the food. Groundbreaking.

Parent Ros de Carteret pointed out that working parents don't have time to learn everyday cooking like previous generations did. "My mum was a really good cook," she said, "but she had the time to teach herself. We don't have time." The result? Pre-packed everything and a fatter population. Guernsey's Healthier Weight Strategy estimates over 57% of adults are overweight or obese, and nearly a third of Year 5 children carry excess weight. The strategy identifies healthier eating as a priority - which, oddly enough, is exactly what these classes address.