Jen Goss + charity venture Cegin y Bobl

Cegin Y Bobl (The People’s Kitchen) is nothing short of a Welsh food revolution.

The right to cook, eat and know food, is something that is at the very hear of Jen Goss’s work with Cegin y Bobl and she believes it should be universal to all. Especially children at primary school. Jen and the team working with her at Cegin Y Bobl are doing some very important work.

To celebrate the launch of Pawb, our brand new seasoning that should help anyone cook knockout delicious food, we chatted to Jen Goss about Cegin y Bobl about what her work means to her and how to make the most of this new seasoning.

What does it mean to be able to cook in 2025? What does a good home cook look like? 

Being able to cook in 2025 is now a privilege – culturally and educationally we have lost the way and generations are no longer engaging in cooking from scratch for many reasons. A good home cook knows about using and or growing local produce, cutting back on meat consumption and cooking from scratch.

Tell us a little about your work at Cegin y Bobl? What made you get involved? 

I was already working for Cook 24, a SPF funded project teaching cooking in schools, community centres and foodbanks and was invited to join the team at Cegin Y Bobl. I lead on content and project planning, deliver their cooking courses and I am involved in the senior management team pushing the organisation forward.  

I am a chef, caterer and writer. The work at Cegin y Bobl feels like the natural next step, I don’t want to do anything else, this is everything to me.

Cegin y Bobl works in lots of spaces and kitchens. Where is its work most valuable / rewarding?

The work is most valuable in primary schools

If you could share one cooking tip with us all, that everyone should have in their back pocket, what would it be? Especially to somebody who has never cooked before?

Go simple, try and get some local veg- it will taste amazing – it’s not been transported across the world on a boat or been sitting on a shelf. Roast it simply and dress with some good salt, seeds, herbs or spices and a squeeze of lemon. This is the beginning of any meal.

Do you have one recipe you think we should all know? 

Tomato sauce –  slowly cooked onions, garlic and oregano, then fresh or tinned tomatoes, cooked for as long as you have with some extra virgin olive oil if you have it. This can be eaten on a pizza, with pasta or rice, flatbreads, eggs, roast veg, and stores well too.

Tell us a little bit about the thoughts behind PAWB. Why these flavours? 

Simple basic spices, that can liven up any veg, fish, meat or eggs quickly. Many people can’t afford lots of jars of spices so to have one jar that can season dishes feels more affordable and helpful for a novice cook.

3 favourite ways to use PAWB?

On fried eggs once cooked.

On roast new potatoes.

On any roast veg, with a tin of chickpeas thrown in.

Our brand new seasoning Pawb is available here. You can read more about Cegin y Bobl’s work here.