A dedicated team of GoodGym volunteers headed to One Church this Sunday to help out in the kitchen for their weekly community gathering. Our mission? To prep a massive, comforting feast of vegetable and beef stew to feed the local community.

The shift started as a trio, with the three of us arriving sleeves rolled up. Because the head chef was arriving a little later, we had to make a few quick executive decisions just to get things moving and prep stations set up! Once the chef arrived, the cooking officially kicked off, and our trio officially upgraded to a four-man band. From there, the quartet got straight to work at the chopping stations.

There was an absolute mountain of fresh produce waiting for us, but we sliced, diced, and chopped our way through bags of carrots, potatoes, onions, and seasonal veggies. With the vegetables prepped and the beef ready, everything went into the giant simmering pots, quickly filling the kitchen with the rich, mouth-watering aroma of a hearty Sunday stew. It was a fantastic, high-energy session filled with great conversation and brilliant teamwork.

A good day for a GoodGym session.

Great turnout, we had plenty volunteers but each one was very dedicated and worked so efficiently. We chopped veg and cooked a veggie chilli, roast butternut squash, sweetcorn fritters, and a cherry almond cake all in just over an hour, it's never been so quick! Thanks everyone

Goodgymers were put to task chopping onions, spices, and peppers for a Tandoori curry, but they were so efficient that they did the washing up, sorted the shelves and tidied the kitchen as well! The hosts were very appreciative for the above-and-beyond help which means the community meal can provide for many guests who are in need of a free meal

In 2 hours we chopped enough onions and carrots and cabbage for a venison stew to feed 50-70 people tomorrow. We also mixed 30 eggs with 2kg of butter, 1.5kg of sugar, and 1.5kg of flour for a massive sponge cake. Not only that, but we efficiently composted the peelings, fried the veg in massive pots and cleaned up to leave it tidy afterwards! The stew was left stewing in the capable hands of master chef John. Thanks for all who helped!

For this week's task, the unique group that is GoodGym Brighton congregated at One Church Florence Road, a place of worship and one-stop shop community venue, for a cleaning mission in their community kitchen. From this kitchen on every third Sunday a meal is prepared for those who are homeless, vulnerably housed or at risk of isolation, which members of GoodGym Brighton are often on hand to support.

The team were welcomed by Stefan who outlined the scale of the task when he revealed that the kitchen hadn't had a single deep clean since the New Year. A wide range of activities were divvied up and the GoodGym squad tackled them all in typical no-nonsense route one fashion: washing/ drying up, rationalising shelves/ pans/ utensils, cleaning ovens/ surfaces/ floors and confronting the fridge-freezer. Hefty items had to be removed from the kitchen and then returned post-clean, including blenders, large bottles of oil and 25kg bags of flour, which provided additional weight training for some. Among the one-off finds in the kitchen was a tupperware tub of lentils used in pastry baking to avert a soggy bottom, familiar to many attempting long runs/ walks in the recent inclement weather.

Capturing the latest one-off moment in the GoodGym Brighton story, the gang posed for the post-task group photo in an adjacent hall often used for a variety of educational purposes, which hosted a collection of xylophones, a paper mache Where the Wild Things Are-esque monster, and an emotions colour wheel tacked to the wall. With Stefan delighted that the kitchen was left in such a sparkling condition the group headed home deserving of a spectrum of happy-coloured emotions including successful, valued and inspired.

In a burst of inspiration, GoodGymer Sam penned this lovely poem. Enjoy the rhymes:

Feeling Complete

Rubber gloves slip snug on my hands, A toilet brush waits for careful plans. Where others groan, I bend with glee, Scrubbing the bowl till it shines for me. The swirl of water, the steady sweep, A rhythm of work both calm and deep. Graffiti cleared, floors bright and true, A quiet craft I can take pride in, too. The scent of cleaner, sharp yet sweet, A fragrance that makes the task complete. Each motion steady, circles tight, Turns hidden corners clean and bright. Some wrinkle noses, some retreat, But here I find the work complete. A task that others choose to flee Brings pride and stillness home to me. So let the gloves embrace my hands, And brushes trace the path I planned. For in this work, both strange and sweet, I find myself, and feel complete.

This report was co-written with contributions from GoodGymers Ben and Sam.

Another GoodGym community mission complete! What next at GoodGym Brighton?

This was my first Goodgym Brighton session, and I was chuffed to be joined by Samantha and Christine, who were at their first Goodgym session ever! Welcome both, it was lovely to meet you! Stefan was also there on arrival, as an old hand at the task.

We were there to help chef John prepare a Lancashire hotpot for about 60 guests tomorrow afternoon.

The three of us established that none of us are gifted in the kitchen, but with John as our leader we were soon up to speed peeling and chopping veg, browning off meat, stirring and even helping bake an almond cake. We were rewarded with pastries from the farmer's market to help fuel the hard work.

The time flew as we chatted away, and when we headed off everything was ship shape and ready for the feast tomorrow.