Some of you may think but all of those things are so simple, surely everyone must know how to do basic cooking, but sadly 24% don’t think they’ll ever learn, and 27% of millennials are not interested in learning how to cook at all. I personally never learnt proper cooking skills at school and never took the time to ask my family to teach me anything at home, preferring to take the lazy approach and rely on ready meals if I was making dinner for myself.

Thanks to a corrupted SD card I thought I had lost all my photos from the day I was invited to YouTube HQ to see the SORTEDfood boys again; Ben, Mike, Barry and Jamie, to see Now Cook It firsthand and even attempt a little cooking with them. Luckily for me the tech god smiled down on me and I finally managed to access them a few days ago.

Now Cook It is not aimed at any particular level of skill, you can use it to learn the basics but you can also use it to improve on your current knowledge and pick up a few showboating skills like how to make homemade jam. And to prove that this can help even the most hopeless of us “cooks” let me tell you about my day with the boys.

After talking me through Now Cook It they said I was going to make Shakshuka with them, now when I say I’m hopeless here’s proving how much. Part of the recipe called for deseeding and slicing a pepper, well I’ve never even eaten a pepper before let alone cut one. I had poor Barry trying to talk me through it, whilst I think silently praying that I didn’t cause an accident with the knife, and then even more shocked when I finally admitted myself and peppers had not yet crossed paths.

With Now Cook It you can sign in with the social media account of your choice and create a profile where you can keep track of any recipes you have tried, and also which skills you have learned and what techniques you have mastered. I have attempted the Sausage Carbonara, Very Berry Brownies and Raisin and Oatmeal Cookies, but I’m not yet confident enough to post pictures of my attempts, maybe on my next try, but I love that I can check track of how I’m doing and what I still am yet to master. My friends and family have been impressed with my attempts so far, and bonus no one has got food poisoning so that’s a definite win. Seriously, if Now Cook It can teach me to cook there is hope for you all!

SORTEDfood and Co-op have teamed up to tackle the cooking skills gap in the UK, dubbed the #CookingGap. The Cooking Gap is the lack of cooking experience that has developed in the 16-35 generation, whether it’s from not being taught these skills in school, not being taught how to cook at home or even the new notion that cooking and baking is a hobby rather than a vital skill.

SORTEDfood are a group of friends who formed 7 years ago to post simple but delicious cooking videos with a full serving of comedy on the side. Now with over a million subscribers they are in a position to have a powerful effect, and after asking their subscribers to tell them why they followed them they realised they needed to do something. Responses came in, with many stating they were using SORTEDfood to learn how to cook. Here’s some pretty insane statistics when it comes to cooking;

55% of people enjoy cooking
31% of millennials cook a limited repertoire of dishes
54% decrease in home cooking in the last 30 years
29% of adults are bored of eating the same meals each week
37% feel they struggle to see how flavours work together
27% of millennials are not interested in learning how to cook
37% of those who can’t cook plan on learning when they leave home
24% don’t think they’ll ever learn
18% feel they haven’t met the right stage in their life to need to know how to cook

How is it that social media has taken over as the main way for people to learn to cook instead of the education system, the same system that states it’s compulsory to learn Art & Design and three types of Science, how is food not a vital part of a child’s education. I didn’t know to boil an egg until I was around the age of 20/21, how insane is that, such a simple thing and there’s so many people who will say they never learnt until they were older or even at all.

One in four millennials are not interested in learning how to cook and 28% of those who can’t cook don’t see why they should learn. You might be thinking why is this an issue, but for me personally there’s a number of reasons I wish I had learnt to cook at a younger age; due to an unhealthy relationship with food I tend to go for unhealthy options because I don’t know to cook the better way or even know which way would be the better choice, and so I am affecting my health and weight every single day because of this. Another reason is financially it’s a nightmare, instead of making a variety of lunches and packing them up for the week I tend to purchase my lunch and the cheapest options are usually the most unhealthy.

Later on in the year I am planning on moving out, and one of the girls I am moving out with is a keen baker. I will be making the most of having her in the kitchen with me and she will probably be sick of me harassing her to teach me more cooking skills. I was sent home from the event with a box of ingredients to make cookies and I have to admit I’ve been too scared to attempt them, god I could have used the cooking classes at school! It may have taken me nearly a month but I have finally decided to give it a go and my sister and I will be having a baking day very soon, it’s safer to have someone with me, and I’ll share our results with you all.

Join in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and let the boys know your experience with food. How were you taught to cook? What is your relationship with food like, is it affected by your knowledge of cooking? Keep your eyes peeled for the #CookingGap campaign.

This year Co-Op have a Christmas Dinner deal starting today and running until Christmas Eve, £10 Frozen Christmas Dinner Deal. Usually selling the turkey joint alone for £10, this is the perfect for anyone who wants to save themselves some money, has last minute add-ons to their guest list, or is just struggling with the increasing prices that sadly don’t come alongside a pay rise. Or even just use it as a chance to stock up on roast essentials that can be used any time, not just Christmas.

The Frozen Christmas Dinner Deal includes the Stuffed Turkey Joint, McCain Roast Potatoes, Aunt Bessie’s Honey Glazed Roast Parsnips, Aunt Bessie’s 12 4 Minute Yorkshire Puddings, Aunt Bessie’s Button Sprouts Glazed with Thyme, Sade and Nutmeg, and a Viennetta Chocolate Nut, which if individually purchased would cost you double coming in at £20.

Even if you won’t necessarily make use of all the side pieces buy the deal and drop any unused items into your local Soup Kitchen and let them make use of them for homeless people. It literally doesn’t cost you a penny as you’ve essentially got them as a free add on, and you’ve done a good dead.

After attending Co-Op’s Christmas In July event a couple of years back I fell in love with their amazing quality of food that still manages to be sold at a reasonable price. Some people assume that the cheaper something is the worse the quality will be but Co-Op definitely prove this wrong in my opinion. I get excited for the Christmas range every year, even without having a Co-Op that close to me, I still make sure to get myself to one to stock on Christmas treats, but everyone is definitely starting to catch up with me as last year I just managed to grab the last packet of Scallops in Garlic Butter before they sold out, I would have literally cried then and there in the shop if I had missed them. Tell me where else you can get a 6 pack of Scallops for only £5, they were beautiful! I’m actually making myself drool, I might take myself off to Co-Op now.

“We believe if you can’t pronounce an ingredient, it shouldn’t go into your body”

In 2004 the first Kind bar was made using the finest nuts and fruits. Due to a nut allergy I was unable to try the bar myself but my Mum stepped in and was all over being my food tester, but ate the bar before I got a photo.

“I was pleasantly surprised by the caramel almond and sea salt Kind bar. On paper the flavours don’t seem like a good match but they actually work well together. There is a good mix of crunchy and chewy taste sensations, and the ingredients taste fresh and wholesome. There are many tasteless, bland cereal bars on the market but this is not one of them.
I am impressed with the packaging and branding. The wrapper is mainly transparent so you can see exactly what you are getting. The colours on the wrapper are muted and understated and don’t detract from the product. There is enough information on the product to make it clear what you are getting – a gluten free, high fibre, nut bar. Note to future ‘The Apprentice’ contestants this is how you do it.”

With 8 different flavours to choose from, split into Fruit & Nut and Nut & Spices bars, you are sure to find a flavour that’s right for you. The Caramel, Almond & Sea Salt bar, Maple Glazed Pecan & Sea Salt bar, and Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt bar are all on sale in Tescos right now for a bargain price of 99p, instead of their usual price of £1.29. Seems like a bargain to me regardless of paying full price or sale, and you can also get the Kind bars in Sainsburys and Waitrose. If you’re on the look out for a new healthy snack or just love nuts then this is the range for you, with some bars housing up to 72% nuts.

Meat. My favourite word, my favourite food! I had never tried pastrami before coming across the Roam & Relish table at the Bloggers Ball, and after seeing Ana try some and hearing her good feedback I had to give it a go myself, and we even got a pack to take home with us.

Launched on the 15 July Roam & Relish are one of the first British Organic Charcuterie companies, specialising in meats from their farm in Devon. The Roam & Relish range consists of 12 organic charcuterie products including salt beef, honey-smoked streaky bacon and the pastrami which is absolutely delicious, with a slight kick to it.

Eversfield is a family run farm, bought due to a shared dream between Mark and his son Hamish and daughter Anna, to produce the best quality organic meat and make it available to everyone. We got to meet the lovely Anna and she told us about the company, or at least tried to whilst Ana ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the fact that she was part of a farmer family. She’s the best to go to events with, she just falls in love with everyone and gets excited over the most random details and it’s so funny to watch.

Whilst speaking to Anna you could really feel her passion towards her company and its products, and you can tell they really do care about the little details you might not think of, like how happy the animals are. I would definitely recommend you have a look on their website as they have a wide range, with Roam and Relish being only a small part of what they offer. I’ll definitely be getting myself some more of the pastrami and having a nose at all their other option whilst I’m on their site.

Big Easy is an American dining restaurant providing the tastes of the Southern States, and is based in Canary Wharf, Covent Garden and Kings Road, London. Alongside serving home-style lobster, ribs and chicken wings with big-screen daytime sport and live music at night, they have daily specials such as Lobster Fest, Unlimited Fajitas and Unlimited Boozy Brunch.

I recently went to the Canary Wharf branch with fellow blogger Charli and five of our friends after getting very excited about the Unlimited Boozy Brunch, which is exclusive to Canary Wharf. This includes 2 hours of unlimited Big Easy Brew, Prosecco or House Wine, and a choice between The Big Pig Gig or Lobster Fest. The Big Pig Gig is basically a giant bowl filled with meat that you can request top ups of at any point, and the Lobster Fest allows you to choice either a whole fresh Lobster, Lobster Roll or Lobster Mac n Cheese, all for just £29.50.

Charli and I had already decided beforehand that we were going to get the Big Pig Gig and a whole Lobster and share them so we got the full experience from our visit. Our order ended up being two whole Lobsters, Lobster Mac n Cheese and four Big Pig Gigs. If you are attending in a large group and have all opted for the same drink, as we did, I would suggest requesting a bottle to be left on the table for you to fill your own glasses with until it’s empty. At one point the waiters were continuously being called to our table as we were all finishing our glasses at different times and although it made sense to have the bottle we did have to ask.

We were given bibs and lobster crackers so there was no worry of being a complete mess at the end. As an avid Prosecco drinker, I can definitely say they have a good one behind their spectacular looking bar, the whole restaurant is just kitted out beautifully. The food was absolutely delicious and was a winner with everyone, we will definitely be going again and I would recommend it to anyone considering. Please check the menus for each restaurant before booking as they all have slightly different offers and I wouldn’t want you to be disappointed and I would definitely suggest booking in advance as they are a popular destination.