On Saturday, St Peter’s hosted budding chef Joshie, an 11-year-old boy with non-verbal autism, after seeing a local call put out by Roots’ Michelin star chef Tommy Banks.
Tommy Banks operated a York Christmas Market stall in November and December, and after a van full of his pies was stolen and stock of pies subsequently destroyed, Joshie baked him replacement pies and reached out on social media. Tommy accepted the pies and kindly responded by giving him a cooking demo in his stall in the market, encouraged other kitchens to do the same.
The appeal was for professional kitchens to bring Joshie in for cooking lessons to help him pursue his dream of becoming a chef. Craig Robinson, Catering and Hospitality Manager here at St Peter’s, responded to the call and reached out to Joshie’s father Dan Harris, “After learning that Joshie wants to be a chef, I was delighted to invite him and his dad to come and cook with us at St Peter’s.”.
Joshie and his family travelled into York again on Saturday by train and made the short journey to our school.
Chef Calvin helped Joshie learn to make a delicious batch of quiches. From cracking the eggs, combining the ingredients, and keeping a careful eye on oven timings, Joshie did an excellent job cooking. He enjoyed quizzing himself on the different appliances and produce available throughout the kitchen and was able to take some food home with him.
Mr. Harris said Joshie has loved getting to spend time cooking with us - “St Peter’s in York have made us feel so at home. They’ve been so neuroinclusive, they let us into the kitchens and the chef spent a lot of time teaching Joshie his techniques.”
Joshie’s family raise awareness on social media to encourage workplaces to bring neurodivergent and autistic talent into the workforce.
St Peter’s believes in encouraging young people to work hard at making their dreams a reality, not letting anything stand in their way. Joshie exemplifies this and was a joy to have at St Peter’s.
To learn more about Joshie’s journey to professional kitchens, read the BBC article here.
To see Joshie and his father’s social media, see here.
#StPetersCatering #StPetersYork #StPetersValues
