A SCHOOL of cookery will add new courses for disadvantaged children and young people in care after being taken over by a childcare provider.

Flavours in Bournemouth has been acquired by the Salisbury-based social enterprise Five Rivers Child Care.

Under its new ownership, Flavours Cookery School will continue offering its existing classes for adults and children.

It will also provide classes for disadvantaged local children and young people in care as a strand of Five Rivers’ alternative education offering.

Five Rivers said Flavours, in Christchurch Road, Pokesdown, would be a base for children to learn to cook, plan meals and shop for healthy meals.

James Hall, head of education at Five Rivers, said: “We are very excited about this new venture. It’s a key responsibility of ours to equip children with skills that will help them to live independently when the time comes to leave our care.

“Meal planning, shopping and cooking are important life skills and working together with other children to create something they can be proud of is really important too. We are thrilled to be able to offer this amazing space to vulnerable children who may never have had the opportunity to access this sort of learning before.”

Five Rivers said it had reassured regular members of the cookery school that Flavours would continue to offer all the usual courses and that all scheduled classes are going ahead as usual.

Flavours will continue to be an exciting, fun place for children, families and adults to learn how to cook, but under the new management structure it will now also help disadvantaged children from the local area.

Liz Hagger, head chef at Flavours, said: “I have always had a passion for food, and I love the community it builds. This passion led me to a very fulfilling career in the hospitality industry.

“This, along with my experience as a chef lecturer in a college, meant Flavours School of Cookery was a natural choice for me. I am really excited about the future opportunities that working with a social enterprise like Five Rivers will bring to Flavours and our community.”