The Prince of Wales revealed his love of steaks when he joined a cooking class for young carers – but confessed his sauces need more work. William met the young people supported by Together As One, a charity formed 25 years ago to help tackle gang violence in Slough, and now providing a wealth of services from sports activities to a Global Grub workshop.
It calls on young people in the process of conflict resolution, equipping them with the skills to go into schools and talk to their peers in a bid to de-escalate tensions and tackle anger. The visit came after last week’s dramatic period for the monarchy following the publication of the Duke of Sussex’s memoir, Spare, which laid bare the turmoil and tensions between Harry and his brother, William, and father, the King.
After meeting some of the staff from the charity, William joined a group of young carers being taught about food nutrition and cooking skills by chef and teacher Kevin Muhammad.
The prince told the chef: “I do a mean steak. My sauces come out quite dry or lumpy – I’ve got to work on those.”
William took off his jacket and put on an apron to help with the dish the group were making – teriyaki chicken. He poured a bowl of pre-cooked noodles into the wok of simmering poultry as his task in the operation.
The organisation was originally called Aik Saath, which means Together As One in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu, to reflect its initial work responding to gang violence between young people from Asian backgrounds in Slough in the late 1990s.
Its work has evolved to meet the needs of Slough’s diverse community, which has led to the development of support for young carers, projects focused on mental health, and campaigns and creative projects designed to strengthen relationships in the community and tackle issues like bullying, knife crime and racism.
The chef said afterwards the prince tried the chicken noodle dish and enjoyed it, adding: “William said it was amazing, he was very impressed with the food and impressed with the five-spice we put in and how it was seasoned.
“He said he loves breakfast. He said Kate is a good cook but he’s not a fan of fresh coriander.”
Rob Deeks, Together As One’s chief executive officer, said during William’s chats with staff and volunteers a range of issues were discussed, from the cost-of-living crisis to the young people bringing up their concerns like knife crime and youth violence.
Asked about his organisation’s work on conflict resolution he replied: “The big thing as well is, it’s about peer leadership. So when we go into a school, I try and talk as little as possible.
“It’s about upskilling the young people so that they’ve got the confidence and the skills to go in there and present to their peers and change their views.”
He added: “It’s about doing a lot of work on anger and challenging emotions and about making sure that they take the time to think.”
