Kath Baron has always been interested in food and the links between food choices and good health. She first became involved in food projects over 20 years ago, with community education and helping to support others growing cheap organic food in allotments – and developing food cooperatives, buying in bulk to make food more affordable. So what was Kath’s particular interest? ”My main interest was in health – having control over your diet and having more vegetables in the diet, with less meat.” Funded by what was then ‘BMBC Community Homes for You’ and delivered by members of the Green House Project, the healthy eating project was developed to raise awareness of of harmful elements of processed foods and promote the use of whole foods, fresh fruit and vegetables. How did The Kitchen come about? ”It was a group effort. The Kitchen on Great Moor Street is the trading name of Lakamka Limited, which is a workers co- operative. This means that the business is owned and managed by the people who are employed by it”. The Kitchen on Great Moor Street provides a varied range of tasty and nutritious vegetarian food and is becoming increasingly popular with people visiting the town centre. As well as The Kitchen, the group operates a coffee bar/café at the Deane and Derby Learning Centre, which was set up in partnership with Bolton College, with funding from NLDC and Bolton Council. Shaheeda Kaduji, Manager and teacher at the Deane and Derby Centre said ”We have provided training for people to set up catering-related businesses, for example how to cost menus, book-keeping and dealing with other aspects of setting up and running a business.” Farkhanda is an excellent example of someone who has benefited from this training. She started as a volunteer and now, having been trained by The Kitchen and the Deane and Derby Learning Centre, she runs the café at the centre. She, along with other volunteers are developing the entrepreneurial and organisational skills required to open and run her own café. The Kitchen, will help her set up her own café in terms of space and anything else necessary. If you visit Deane & Derby Learning Centre, you must try Farkhanda’s Special. They come highly recommended and rightly so, Farkhanda is very excited and hopeful about the future. We wish Farkhanda and ‘the kitchen on great moor street’ the very best.