Norman Johnson, 79, is sautéing lamb mince, gently spiced with cinnamon, cumin and turmeric.
His keema curry looks, and smells, delicious – and I know from experience that making one from scratch isn’t entry-grade cooking.
So I’m surprised to discover that a few months back, Norman’s culinary repertoire didn’t stretch much further than an omelette.
‘I’ve been married for 54 years and until recently my wife did all the cooking. I could do eggs and a sandwich but that was about it,’ he tells me before plunging a teaspoon into a steaming pot of lentil dhal, tasting it for seasoning.
Norman Johnson (pictured), 79, from Surrey, now cooks for his wife after her multiple sclerosis worsened, leaving her wheelchair-bound and barely able to move
Norman joined Man In A Pan upon the recommendation of his doctor, to help him learn cook. Founder Robin Van Creveld (pictured with reporter Eve Simmons) specialises in community cooking projects, and believes that the benefits of his classes span far beyond the kitchen
Norman explains that his wife has suffered from multiple sclerosis since she was 20. In the past five years her condition has rapidly deteriorated, leaving her wheelchair-bound and barely able to move.
‘It’s now my job to look after her,’ says the retired carpenter, and father of two grown-up children, from Surrey. ‘Whatever she needs, I’ll do it for her. I had to learn to cook for her, but also for myself.’
We are at a cooking class at the Camberley community centre in Surrey, designed to get men into the kitchen. Many of the 150 regular attendees, like Norman, are full-time carers for their unwell spouse. Others are widowers, suddenly tasked with the everyday jobs that were once the work of their wives.
Some suffer mental health problems and are seeking therapeutic activities; others are simply there to make a friend or two.
The cookery course, Man With A Pan, which runs in Brighton, Kent and Surrey Heath, is, as ordinary as it seems, part of a cutting-edge health trend.
Known as social prescribing, NHS GPs are now encouraged to tell patients about support groups or community projects rather than dish out pills. It might be a local gym that offers free or discounted membership, an open-to-all choir or a gardening club.
In the case of Man With A Pan, many of the budding chefs have been told by their family doctor to sign up – and have gained some much-needed culinary skills as a result. The mental and physical health burden of carers is well-known, and almost half of them are men. A report last year by
