Wagamama's top chefs headed to a North Tyneside community centre as part of a project helping low income families.
The restaurant chain has joined forces with food distribution charity The Bread and Butter Thing which provides low cost food to low income communities.
The partnership involves projects in their restaurants and out in the communities, which has seen chefs heading to Spennymoor, in County Durham, and Longbenton, in North Tyneside, to give a live cookery demonstration.
Chefs showed off their skills and used key ingredients to make some of Wagamama's iconic curries, based on the pastes and sauces being supplied to TBBT members this month in their weekly shopping bags.
Speaking at Longbenton Community Centre, development chef Jamie Henderson said: "We are cooking rice with curry which is what we do in our restaurants but this is part of our retail package which is in shops and supermarkets.
"This is a version of that so they will get a paste in their bags, so we will show them how to cook it.
"We just give demonstrations on how best to use it. Curry can be quite spicy and top tips about adding milk to calm down the spice.
"It is literally coconut milk and the jar sauce and people can use whatever vegetables they have in the cupboard. "
Jamie, who was joined by area head chef Victor Laskary, said getting out into the community was great.
He said: "It is really good as we work in restaurants most days so it gets us out."
The restaurant chain has supplied food and bespoke recipe cards to TBBT and given a donation of £25,000 that will pay for 41 truck journeys.
Each is able to carry 426 tonnes of food with each tonne equating to 2380 meals. A grand total of just over a million meals.
Teaming up to champion The Bread and Butter Thing’s Warm Hub initiative, Wagamama will also be providing warm and inclusive community spaces in selected restaurants - offering free sides to families facing difficult choices between heating and eating.
Fiona Williams, communications director for the charity, said: "We have got this really extensive partnership which has given us funding to help keep the vans on the road.
"The cost of living is making life tough for people in our communities but the knock on effect is it is costing more to keep our vans going. They have invested in that but more broadly than that they have offered us their curry pots they sell in the shops.
"All of our bags today have the curry pots and a recipe card that they have created for people to use at home, and little top tips.
"For some of our hubs that have more space and flexibility they actually have two chefs who have come today and cooked a load up for us all to taste."
