DEVON County Council is running a series of free six-week cookery courses to teach residents to cook a range of basic meals while covering the top tips that help reduce food waste at home.

Eight “DIY Dinner” courses will take place in towns across the county during January and February in another example of the council’s commitment to help communities reduce food waste and carbon emissions in support of the Devon Climate Declaration.

Each course will be led by an experienced community food worker and will include recipes from Recycle Devon’s newly launched cook book “Have Your Food and Eat It”. Every week, those who take part in the course will take home a meal for four that they have cooked.

In addition, the sessions will give guidance on how to reduce food waste, for instance, through meal planning, proper storage and understanding the difference between Best Before and Use By dates.

Each course runs for six weeks with a break during half-term week (w/c February 17) starting: Monday January 27: Exeter; Wednesday January 29: Cranbrook; Wednesday January 29: Bideford; Wednesday January 29: Teignmouth; Wednesday January 29: Kingsbridge; Wednesday January 29: Tiverton; Thursday January 30: Barnstaple; Wednesday February 12: Okehampton.

Courses run from 4pm-6pm apart from Bideford which will be 4.30pm-6.30pm.

Bookings are now open for all courses with limited places on each course so book early to avoid disappointment by contacting Emma on 01392 383159 or email: [email protected] .