Cooking on the plot

Have a health and safety chat beforehand, focussing on the following points just to make sure everyone is aware of the safe practices for the occasion. Do a risk assessment to make the safety aspect clear to all.

• Make ground rules – wash hands before cooking, no smoking in the kitchen area, children must be supervised etc!
• Make sure there are enough places and spaces for people to sit and eat in reasonable comfort. Do you need chairs and tables or are you sitting on a lawn? Do you need sun shade? Make sure seating is a safe distance away from the cooking area.
• Consider health and safety – assess the cooking area to make sure there isn’t any trip or slip hazards. This will include keeping the area clear of obstructions and cooking tidily.
• Make sure your choice of cooker is stable
• Make sure you have a 1st Aid kit handy and accident book
• In case of burns have a bucket of clean water and cling film ready. The water is to cool down the burn, the cling film is used to create a layer across the burn to keep it clean (do not wrap around the limb). Check this NHS link for more information. Make sure everyone is versed in what to do if someone burns themselves.

Here’s a useful example risk assessment for food preparation which might help you consider the risks in your environment: . And you can see an example risk assessment from Incredible Edible Conwy for a barbeque they held.

Food Safety

This is to prevent dangerous bacteria from contaminating food and creating a health risk. Listed are the main actions to consider when cooking food outdoors. For more detailed information check www.food.gov.uk.

• Have somewhere to wash and thoroughly dry your hands. Drying hands is important as bacteria are more easily transmitted by wet and damp conditions or use hand sanitizer gel.
• Have a place where you can wash utensils and pots and pans.
• Prior to cooking any meat must be kept below 5⁰C, which is generally the temperature in your fridge. The danger zone for bacterial growth is 8⁰C – 63⁰C so keeping it cold is essential.
• Cook food thoroughly through – food must reach a temperature of 75⁰C for 30 seconds or 70⁰C for 2 minutes. This is to kill most bacteria and can be checked using a meat thermometer.
• If you are in any doubt about cooking with meat keep it simple, just stick to cooking vegetables.
• Keep any salads washed and chilled – they can carry listeria.
• Use separate chopping boards for raw meat and raw veg to prevent cross contamination.

The Food Standards Agency is one of the government agencies that have made this really easy. If you do a lot of cooking, even if you give it all away free, you need to implement a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) system. In the old days these were complicated and expensive but now all the information is provided free by the Food Standards Agency.

The two basic things are:

1. Food safety – There is also lots of information here and all the posters you need to remind you how to keep things safe. It has everything you need and will complement your online training.
2. Allergen advice – Whenever you offer food – even just biscuits and cakes – make sure you check out the allergen notices. This is not just about paperwork – it can save people’s lives. For more information see here.

Regular cooking

If cooking for your volunteer group is something you intend to do on a regular basis it may be a good idea for the chefs/cooks to take a level 2 food hygiene course. It can be done quite easily online for around £15.00.

You probably have an arsenal of recipes ready to go but if you don’t, check out our easy makes, they will surely tempt you into action.