Tonight, 5 Goodgymers turned out to support Foodcycle. I helped in the Kitchen and Sheikh and Darshini got stuck in with the hosting team and were joined by Luqman and Chanel who were attending their first Goodgym task this evening. In the kitchen this evening we cooked a delicious 3 course meal for the guests, with a Lettuce soup (yes, you read that correctly) for starter and a banana 🍌 bread based pudding with custard for dessert. This was either side of a take and fry up, although there was actually very minimal frying going on at all. The main was made up of quorn sausages, scrambled eggs, toast, hash brown, mushrooms, tomatoes and baked beans (loads of baked beans - 12 tins). Plating up the main was an all hands to the pump affair as there were so many elements to get on the plate, but the hosting team were amazing and helped us manage the service impeccably. By the end of service, a couple of our hosts from the Goodgym team were getting stuck into the washing up, whilst the others were tidying away the tables and chairs in the hall. A fantastic session tonight and it was great to welcome our new members. We'll done team

Tonight the Goodgym contingent at Foodcycle wasn't as large as it has been in recent weeks, but it didn't stop the team creating an egg-stravagant 3 course meal to tantalise the taste buds of the 35 guests that were looked after by Sheikh , who was making his FoodCycle debut, and the rest of the hosting team. I helped the rest of the kitchen team prepare the evenings menu of frittata on toast (using 73 eggs 🥚), leek and potato 🥔 bake with a mixed salad and banana cake and custard. Each course was well received and everyone went away with a full belly.

2 Goodgyners made their way to Hightown Methodist church to help out with the storage for Foodcycle. Gill arrived nice and early and started moving a whole load of storage boxes that were stacked on the floor. She was then joined by Nabeel and once he’d moved tables out of the way together they started in the job of putting together a flat pack shelving unit. Fortunately Nabeel was pretty great at reading and interpreting the instructions and Gill was pretty good at holding thing, passing bits of shelf and the hammer. It took a while but eventually the shelving unit was compete and put into place. Gill then stayed to reorganise the food that had been taken out of the boxes and got it all ready for this evening’s Foodcycle session.

The people at FoodCycle are beginning to wonder how they would ever cope if it wasn't for the amazing contribution of GoodGym to their volunteering team. This afternoon and evening was no exception.

Gill did a double wammy as she started the afternoon at 2pm with a trip to Sainsbury's to collect some of the food surplus which we would be using to turn onto a healthy meal for the guests. After unloading the mountain of food with Jordi one of the FoodCycle Team she was soon joined by other FoodCyclers, including Pam and we were soon deciding on a menu for the evening. Pam took charge of the starter and came up with a delicious egg salad topped by a couple of boiled eggs and her very own home made mayonnaise!!!

Gill was busy putting together an apricot pudding with apricot and strawberry sauce. While they were flat out in the kitchen, it was time for Soheil and Ali to make their FoodCycle debut. They were joined by Yazed and all three did an amazing job of setting up the hall ready for the meal. And what a lovely team to greet the guests, as they were smiling throughout service and while washing up and tidying up afterwards.

Well done GoodGym team - another fabulous meal served to over 50 appreciative guests.

“If it wasn’t for GoodGym FoodCycle would struggle sometimes” This was how one of the project leaders described our contribution to FoodCycle to some of the other new volunteers tonight . And tonight was no exception. Gill was first at the church to unlock and get the kitchen ready, as well as buying some additional ingredients in case we didn’t get enough food surplus from the shops. She was joined by the kitchen team which included Pam for her first session at FoodCycle. She was absolutely amazing taking a lead on the banana bread pudding and fruit compote for dessert. And we had our other GoodGymers arrive to help with the hosting. And of course Abdo’s artwork made the menu look particularly attractive. Good to have Abdo, Yazed and Darshini in the hosting team and the meal was given out to the guest with real efficiency tonight. And they are fab at washing up too. It was lovely to see other GoodGymers as guests too and hope to see them soon on a GoodGym task.

This afternoon GoodGym were represented by just two of the team at FoodCycle, but despite the heat (both inside the kitchen and outside) the whole kitchen team were extremely efficient at turning some very random surplus items into another sumptuous meal for the guests. We didn't have much veg at all, but that didn't stop us putting together three courses that were enjoyed by all. Garlic bread and salad kicked off the meal, then a vegetable couscous with a spiced tomato sauce and salad, and finished off with a fruit crumble.

Lots of empty plates and happy faces, and Martin and Gill alongside the rest of the kitchen team had been so efficient they even had time for a quick social visit to discuss our GoodGym visit to Ben Nevis.