We give young people the opportunity to realise their potential, grow in confidence and develop a sense of purpose.
Food Punks started as an initiative to teach simple cookery skills to young people, using fresh local food. As a chef, our founder Dave decided to use his skills to rustle up some dinner with the young people in Tweeddale Youth Action’s youth clubs.
Turns out combining youth work with cookery is a match made in heaven, and the rest - as they say - is history.
Our first kitchen may have had no running water or oven but with the help of a portable stove and a lot of enthusiasm and hard work, our Food Punks brigade began to come together.
We found using simple, effective techniques in a respectful environment develops creativity, work ethic and skills in young people. Cooking together builds an understanding of the importance of cohesion and teamwork, as well as being good fun!
With the opportunities and experience we provide, young people gradually build their self belief, allowing them to have hope and see possibilities for their future in employment, further education or entrepreneurship.
Food Punks have come a long way since those early days!
We have delivered outside and event catering to hundreds of happy customers, started a YouTube channel, shared online cooking lessons during lockdown, started growing our own food in our allotment and are now opening our own shop on Peebles High Street - Project Pizza!
Our reputation for top-class food using delicious local produce continues to grow, but at our heart we’ll always be about bringing young people together at a critical time in their lives to achieve the excellence we know they have inside of them.
Take a look at our journey - from that first tiny kitchen to the force to be reckoned with that is Food Punks today! And there’s plenty more to come…
