Member Article

New Appointment Mentors Autism in the Kitchen

Newly appointed house cook, Dan Penistone from Goole, is cooking up gourmet fair in the Goldcrest Kitchen as his skills support service users learn how to navigate throughout a kitchen and cook nutritious meals.

We take for granted the process of cooking ourselves a meal, it starts with the very thought of what to cook and where to buy it from, simple! Not for everyone if you are autistic or have learning difficulties.

From the layout of a kitchen, and the use of kitchen appliances, to the storage of food, nutrition and nourishment, and the practical task of how to cook food, Dan’s kitchen mentoring is designed to help service users understand the whole process of cooking.

Dan Penistone, Goldcrest House cook says: “It’s a real privilege for me to be able to use my skills to not only provide balanced and nutritious meals for service users and staff but to provide service users with the opportunity to understand how a kitchen works, how to make food from scratch, and make independent decisions about food.”

Ralph Parish, registered manager at Goldcrest House says: “Our mission is all about normalisation and inclusion for our service users, and to support, teach and equip them with the essential life skills they need to live a fulfilled and quality life; Dan’s input is getting them one step closer to an independent life.”

Based on Boothferry Road Goldcrest House is a centre of excellence dedicated to addressing the individual needs of adults over 18 affected by Autistic Spectrum Disorder and learning difficulties. It provides residential care, supported living, long and short term respite care, day services and outreach to meet the varied needs of those who access the service 52 weeks a year; its aim is to be the UK’s quality service of choice.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Goldcrest House .