AN ONLINE cookery club is helping schoolchildren in Chepstow create meals for the whole family, while picking up life skills along the way.

Angharad Underwood’s online Cookalong Clwb works with primary schools in the town - but there are plans to expand.

On a weekly basis, Ms Underwood, along with volunteers, provides a bag of ingredients, an apron and basic equipment to all participating families, with a recipe based around a hot meal.

Receiving generous, fresh mixed fruit and veg boxes every week from Lidl, the Cookalong Clwb allows even more creativity and sharing of recipes.

Set up in April 2021, the Cookalong Clwb promised to give children the opportunity to take the lead in the kitchen.

What was originally meant to be face-to-face cooking in schools, was halted by the pandemic.

The Cookalong Clwb moved online and is becoming extremely popular with families in Monmouthshire’s primary schools.

Ms Underwood said: “During the first lockdown, my daughter Pip and I started a Monday Cookalong lunch club where we’d find recipes that we were craving, like a Greggs bake, and share them at 12pm on a Monday.

"We’d post the recipe and ingredients a couple of days before, and people would cook with us and make their own lunch.

“We had adults thanking us for teaching them and their children, which made us realise we had to share more."

Funded by the Welsh Government’s Food Security Grant, the Cookalong Clwb is part of a bigger project which aims to give Monmouthshire residents the opportunity of access to fresh food and equipment.

Cabinet member for education, Cllr Paul Pavia, said: “A project like the Cookalong Clwb could potentially open doors for these children’s futures.

"It seems they all have a great time cooking as a family, and I hope to see this project grow.”

Cllr Lisa Dymock said: “The Cookalong Clwb is an amazing project that offers the opportunity for children to be creative in their own kitchens.

"It is encouraging to see how much they enjoy both the cooking process itself and the fruits of their labours."

St Marys RC, Thornwell, the Dell and Pembroke primary schools are just some of those to have taken part, with plans to reach more schools in Monmouthshire soon.