Cooking is therapy for group of TBI survivors
While cooking multiple courses for more than three dozen people seems like a daunting task to most people, a group of brain injury survivors say it’s more like therapy to them.
“Headway East London, a charity that supports people recovering from serious brain injuries, hosts a supper club every other month. The food is made from scratch by its service users, who spend hours in the kitchen,” an article by Sam Gelder in the Hackney Gazette reads. “One of those is Dave Mercer, who cannot speak highly enough of the experience.”
Mercer tells the Gazette that it’s an amazing opportunity for him. One he never would have experienced if he hadn’t sustained a brain injury.
“I like cooking,” Mercer says in the article. “I wasn’t able to do it for a long time after my injury but to think people are paying to eat food you have created is like ‘wow.’ Watching someone make a curry with 20 spices is incredible. Once I just suggested making matcha tea ice cream – I’ve never made ice cream before but they let me do it. People were saying it was the best ice cream they’ve ever had. That sense of achievement is really important because we find things other people take for granted really difficult.”
Mercer told the Gazette that it’s days like that – long days none-the-less, that send him home feeling 12-feet-tall. All the chefs bring something different to the table, it’s their differing abilities along with a strong team ethic that allows them to get things done. Things like baking fresh bread from scratch.
“To have everyone paying, eating your food and giving you a big pat on the back afterwards can bring people to tears. It’s a great thing,” Mercer said in the article. “A lot of people here live in isolation – friends disappear when you get ill. But it gives people the feeling of community spirit they don’t get at home. It’s like therapy.”
All money raised goes to Headway, which relies solely on funding.
Mercer said being a part of the program makes him feel like he’s able to give back to the people who are helping him.
