Food & Drink, Personalities | Posted on May 27th, 2026 | return to news

Celebrity chef leads Dorset community cooking class

A total of 80 people from across Dorset gathered for a cook-along event led by celebrity chef Lesley Waters.

Celebrity chef Lesley Waters led a community cook-along event at Dorchester Corn Exchange on Wednesday 20 May. A total of 80 people from across the county took part in the event, which aimed to promote healthy cooking.

Known for her appearances on ‘Ready Steady Cook’ and ‘This Morning’, Waters showed how to make her lentil and orange salad with feta parcels. She was joined by fellow chefs Nicholas Balfe (from BBC’s ‘Great British Menu’ and co-owner of Holm restaurant in Somerset), who prepared a spring minestrone soup, and Steve Yates, head chef of the Kings Arms in Dorchester who made a peach and raspberry pavlova.

Get Dorset Cooking LIVE was funded by Dorset Council and organised by Dorset healthy cooking charity The Friendly Food Club (FFC) to publicise its ongoing Get Dorset Cooking campaign.

Participants included community groups, families, and carers, supported by FFC, and people from local charities including The Bus Shelter in Weymouth, Read-Easy, and the Space Youth Project in Poole. Assisted by FFC’s tutors and volunteers, the participants made all three courses then ate them together.

Waters said: “Today’s event was hands-on, collaborative, and immensely fun.

“As someone who is passionate about cooking and the Dorset community, which I am very proud to be part of, it has been an absolute pleasure to join with people to celebrate how important cooking is to our health and wellbeing.

“Everyone was so engaged and passionate, and together we produced some amazing food.

“Now we want to inspire others and Get Dorset Cooking!”

One of the participants was Jimmy, who was among a group of people from homelessness charity The Bus Shelter.

Jimmy said: “I have grown up feeling that if it isn’t smiley faces and nuggets, I won’t touch it. But I love to cook and I’ve really enjoyed what we have done today. It has made me want to cook more.”

For more details on The Friendly Food Club and how to get involved with the Get Dorset Cooking campaign, visit www.thefriendlyfoodclub.org.