A collection of cooking videos designed to help people with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities was launched at Tremploy today.

The series, entitled Let’s Get Cooking, takes viewers through the preparation of the dishes with step by step instructions. The project was a partnership between Public Health Office of the PEI Department of Health and Wellness, the PEI Association of Community Living, Tremploy, and Canada’s Smartest Kitchen, the research and development arm of The Culinary Institute of Canada. Sobeys and G. Wooldridge Art provided gifts in kind of grocery gift cards and artwork for the accompanying recipe cards respectively.

Tremploy clients were involved in the project from start to finish. They helped identify the dishes they would like to prepare, shopped for the groceries, and participated in the preparation of the dishes on camera. The videos were created in Canada’s Smartest Kitchen under the supervision of a CSK chef to ensure that the food handling and preparation were safe and appropriate. Funding for a Human Services student to work on the project was provided by the college’s President’s Innovation Fund.

Holland College president Dr. Sandy MacDonald said the videos will be a valuable resource.

“The video cookbook series will make a meaningful contribution to our community by promoting healthy eating. It is of critical importance that we continue to promote independent living by offering an opportunity for individuals to develop or enhance their ability to purchase and prepare healthy, affordable meals,” he said.

Julie Smith, executive director of the PEI Association of Community Living, said the value of the videos goes beyond the obvious benefits.

‘We believe this resource will develop opportunities for individuals to build a real sense of pride, independence and interest in creating healthy meals to bring to the dinner table, not only for themselves, but those they live with," she said.

Joel Dennis, executive director of Tremploy, agreed.

“The aspect of this project that appealed to us was the engagement with participants throughout the various stages of the project. Ultimately, this is a tool for them, and because they were involved in building it, there is a sense of ownership.”

"We are proud to support this fantastic project," said Health and Wellness Minister James Aylward. " Our Wellness Grant Program is helping to strengthen and mobile Island communities, so that together, we are helping to make the healthy choice the easier choice for all Islanders. This new video series will be a wonderful new resource for Islanders with an intellectual disability, to help them make health food choices and strengthen their independence."

The Let’s Get Cooking videos are available on the PEI Association for Community Living website, providing easy accessibility for anyone who is interested in watching them. To see the videos and download the recipes, go to www.peiacl.org/lets-get-cooking/.

In this picture: Holland College president Sandy MacDonald; Julie Smith, executive director of PEI Association for Community Living; Hon. James Aylward, Minister of Health and Wellness; Hon. Brad Trivers, Minister of Education and Lifelong Learning; and Joel Dennis, executive director of Tremploy, Inc., showing one of the recipe cards that were developed as part of the Let’s Get Cooking project.