Cook and Share is returning throughout the month of November where we bring people together through a joint celebration of food. Cook and share encourages schools, families, nurseries and communities across the UK to cook, eat, and enjoy food in ways that create connection, build skills and harness the joy of cooking.
With a wide range of resources, Cook and Share gives you the chance to take part in hands-on experiences, spark meaningful conversations about food, and create joyful moments together. Getting involved can also help you work towards your Food for Life actions.
Whether your planning lessons, running activities, or trying new skills at home, our themed resources will help spark inspiration. Each week we will be shining a spotlight on a different theme, but you don't need to follow along in order. The resources are fully adaptable, so you can pick and choose what works best for your class, your setting or your timetable.
The new Activity Pack makes Cook and Share resources easier to use than ever.
You can use these resources in any way that you'd like. They’re here to give you practical tools, fresh ideas, and the confidence to get cooking. Explore, experiment, and make them your own so you and your learners get the very best out of them.
You can download the full Activity Pack below, or download the individual packs for each theme.
Cooking is more than just making food, it’s about making memories and forging connections. When we cook, we laugh, share stories and spend time together.
Cooking helps us celebrate birthdays, holidays and little moments that make us smile.
It is also a great way to connect with friends and family. You can learn new recipes from each other, taste different flavours, and be proud of what you create! Everything that you cook is something special, because you made it!
With our Pumpkin Power Activity, we show how a pumpkin isn’t just for carving, it can become warming soups with our Soup Chooser, tasty snacks using the Seeds & Spices Cheat Sheet, or even creative Pumpkin Play Dough.
On Bonfire Night, food makes the celebration even brighter, from savoury Garlic Pinwheels to sweet Sticky Ginger Buns.
And with Happy Plates, you can explore how food affects our mood through the Food and Mood resource, while our Jamie Oliver Kitchen Garden Project meal-building guide helps you put together balanced, joyful meals.
Whatever age or skill level you may be, everyone can learn to cook! You don’t need to be an expert to get started. Cooking is all about trying things out, learning step by step, and having fun along the way.
Start simple with Air Fryer Fun, where you can try easy recipes like Homemade Wedges, Falafel, or even fresh Air Fryer Focaccia. Or it could mean building confidence step by step with our Level-Up your Skills activity, using our Cooking Equipment: Top Tips, learning safe techniques with our video tutorials, and putting skills into practice with the Easy-Peasy Tray Roast. For an even gentler start, Simple Snacks shows how chopping cucumber, carrots, and peppers or turning peelings into Vegetable Crisps with Homemade Houmous can make cooking both fun and accessible.
When we cook from scratch, we use real, whole foods like fruit, vegetables, grains, meat and beans. Cooking this way means we use less ‘ultra-processed’ food. This is the kind of food that often has lots of ingredients that you wouldn’t find in your kitchen cupboard! When cooking from scratch, we get meals that are more filling, nutritious, and allow us to gain a deeper understanding of the food on our plates.
Sweet treats don’t have to be shop-bought, with our Baked Goodies resource, you can bake Chocolate and Beetroot Muffins, Chocolate Courgette Cake, or a Slow Cooker Fruit Crumble that use less sugar and more whole ingredients. Hearty Meals shows how comforting dishes like Super Quick Noodles and Lentil Ragu can be easily made from scratch. These recipes prove that real food is both simple and satisfying.
Cooking connects us across time and place. It’s a way to share who we are, where we come from and what we celebrate.
When we cook, we are part of something bigger, a human tradition that brings people together.
Cooking isn’t just about food, it’s about being human!
With this theme, we explore cooking as something all humans share. In Food around the World, you’ll discover how recipes such as Latkes, Vegetable Spring Rolls and Bombay Chickpeas are used to celebrate different traditions and show how food brings people together. And in Show and Tell, use our Table Talkers to highlight how sharing food has always been central to who we are. Cooking connects us not just to our own families, but to humanity as a whole.
We’d love to see what you’re cooking up this year. Whether it's teaching or trying out a new skill, families getting creative in the kitchen, or a whole school getting involved, share your photos and stories on social media using #CookAndShare. To make it even easier, we’ve created a set of social media assets you can use, including ready-to-go graphics and templates. Just download, post, and get involved!
Keep up to date with how we are cooking and sharing this November by following our Facebook page: