Cooking with Chris

About the project

As a team, working on this project has been an incredibly rewarding and impactful experience, and its so exciting to see it finally come into fruition. We started this project to raise awareness surrounding the challenges that many stroke survivors face in getting back in to the kitchen and offer a starting point.

The video series features Chris King demonstrating recipes such as a versatile curry sauce, roasted red pepper soup and apple and pear crumble. We also demonstrate chopping techniques using a regular kitchen knife and reducing food waste.

Working with Chris

Chris, a stroke survivor and chef with over 30 years experience, brings an abundance of knowledge and experience to the kitchen. His background as a chef combined with his lived experience as a stroke survivor with left-sided weakness, means he has learned to adapt his cooking techniques over the years and regained independence in the kitchen.

His love of food started at a young age. Following in his father's footsteps, he joined the Army Catering Corps at age 16 and went on to win several awards for his cooking. Later on, he managed six restaurants, had teams of staff under him and trained with some of the most talented chefs in Europe.

Cooking has been a major part of his life both before and after his stroke. He has used his passion for his craft not only in his own recovery journey but for others as well by volunteering at Chequers Kitchen and serving his community.

Chequers Kitchen

Not long after his stroke seven years ago, Chris started volunteering at Chequers Kitchen to help young people battling with their mental health. His job was to equip young people with the skills to make better decisions when it came to appropriate food shopping and cooking at home.

This blossomed into a series of cooking classes for stroke survivors that became increasingly important during the pandemic and featured occasionally on YouTube LIVE. Chris volunteered at Chequer's Kitchen for over four years teaching and helping many people who walked through their doors.

He has repeatedly praised the lifelong friendships he has made at Chequers Kitchen in supporting him throughout his recovery.

"Volunteering and helping people at Chequer's Kitchen saved my life. Without them, I wouldn't be here."

Chris King, chef and stroke survivor

Chris's story is integral to this project, and highlights exactly why it's so important that we raise awareness about the very real challenges many stroke survivors face getting back in the kitchen after stroke, and hopefully encourages many to regain their confidence in the kitchen and beyond.

We will be launching the video series at the end of this month, so please do watch this space!