We catch up with Coriander Stone, a nutritional therapist and chef with a passion for showing families how food can transform our lives
Hi Coriander. It’s great to learn that you’re offering nutritional therapy and cooking classes to children, teens and adults. How did you recognise a need for these lessons?
I have worked as a nutritionist for 12 years and it became apparent that the thing which helped families and individuals get on track the most were simple meal tips and cooking support. Ever since the pandemic, there has been such an explosion of delivery, take-away and ready meal services that I think people are cooking less and less.
I think a big reason for this is a sense of overwhelm in people’s lives. We are all so busy and many of us juggle families, work and are often faced with family members who refuse certain foods, making things even harder. I don’t think many of us have the mental space to think about what to cook for dinner each night, but what many people don’t realise is that a really tasty, simple yet nutritious meal can be put together in minutes.
I wanted to show people how easy it can be to cook again and also reduce some of the pressure that can come with planning the shopping and meal prep, and free up some valuable mental headspace.
What are the common challenges that children and adults are facing with their diets?
I think our lives have become a bit too busy and, at the same time, we are faced with too much choice. Most of us are only a few steps away from a shop selling every kind of food, snack and drink imaginable. That makes it almost impossible to motivate ourselves to buy ingredients and cook from scratch – yet this is really the only way to know exactly what we are eating and to take control over our health and wellbeing.
So many people don’t understand just how much control they have over their own health – it really is all in our hands! When we understand that preparing a meal from scratch can literally take 10 minutes and we can then eat in the right way to support our health, that really empowers us to be masters of our own health, rather than leaving it in the hands of ‘Big Food’.
How are you able to help your clients become more food and nutrition savvy?
I always start simple, with the basics. These are so often overlooked yet in my experience, it’s what makes the biggest difference to health. We don’t all need to be eating superfoods or expensive ingredients every day; if we can get the basics right then we are more than halfway there. I help clients by giving them all the information they need to make informed, empowered decisions.
For almost all of the hundreds of clients I have ever worked with, this makes the most difference to their health. I also give loads of tips for how to get around picky eaters and make mealtimes less stressful, easier and more joyful.
What are the typical questions that you are asked during your workshops?
It’s often simple things that people want to know, like questions around seasoning or how to cook meat perfectly. Helping people to think a little but outside the box is always appreciated too.
What meals do you prepare in your cooking workshops?
I aim to focus on really simple, good food. Unless a client asks, I won’t make it complicated or fussy in any way. My goal is to make cooking simple again for the whole family and get people cooking really easy yet tasty and nutritious meals, and most importantly ones that the whole family will enjoy eating.
I never want any of it to feel overwhelming or unmanageable (there’s enough of that in our lives!), so I will be guided by what a client feels would be most helpful for them and their family. We can also base meals on classic family favourites and use that as a base to build on, so they have some different ideas to go home with that they are confident will be enjoyed.
How do the children’s workshops differ from those for adults?
It depends on the child – and the adult! Everything is tailored to whoever is attending the workshop, but typically kids won’t do any heavy chopping or frying unless they’re older teens. The younger kids love to get involved in building the dishes, seasoning and stirring – but really they can get involved in all of it once the chopping is done. The more they are involved, the more likely it is they will enjoy the finished product and be inspired to do it again at home.
Can children and adults take part together?
Yes absolutely! One of the workshops I most enjoy is for whole families, all taking part together. This can really help with family mealtimes at home too.
What do you most enjoy about the workshops?
I love chatting to people, finding out more about their lives and why they want to do the workshop, and getting them excited about cooking again. It’s so inspiring to be able to take people from a place of mental overload where they can’t bear the thought of tackling the evening meal, to a place of ease and joy around food. And empowering people to take control over their own health is the best thing on the planet in my opinion!
When and where do your workshops take place?
They’re usually held in people’s own kitchens, if at all possible, as I think it makes sense for people to get excited about cooking where they would usually be doing it. The are no set times that workshops run, people can book them individually, whenever suits them.
To find out more about Coriander’s nutrition and cookery workshops, go to https://www.corianderstone.com/
