Just a team trio this evening as the hot weather and World Cup seemed to be keeping people indoors, but not us three, we had an important message to deliver to the people of Hightown about the free meals on offer from Foodcycle at Hoghtown Baptist Church every Tuesday.

Armed with flyers we targeted the houses along Hitchin road as we hadn't done these before and wanted to make sure everyone gets the message. One thing about these houses, steps to the front door are numerous! sometimes a small set, sometimes three flights, it was certainly a workout for the knees, getting up and down!

Even walking because of the heat we got round super quickly and managed to finish with plenty of time to get home and watch England win their first game of the world cup 🥳 ⚽

When the FoodCycle team is augmented by 6 GoodGymers you know it's going to be a good evening. Gill, Martin and Lucie were in the kitchen and we were faces with a lot of eggs to incorporate into our menu. The starter was an egg mayonnaise salad and Lucie enjoyed every moment of peeling the 28 boiled eggs (or did she?). Gill and Martin turned a large bag of lentils and grated carrots into a delicious loaf using another 25 eggs - this time whisked. Fawaz, Neill and Abdulrahman were enlisted on the hosting team and got stuck into setting up the hall, waiting tables and clearing up at the end. Well done, you all worked hard and we were served and cleared up in record time.

At FoodCycle there was amazing turn out of 44 guests and 4 of our dedicated Goodgymers joined the team to provide a tasty meal for them. There was great team work as they worked together with the FoodCycle volunteers to host, cook, wash up and provide a welcoming atmosphere.

A trio of GoodGymers made up half the kitchen team at FoodCycle tonight and although we had very little food to work with there was an awful lot of fun and laughter. Gill came in extra early to make pastry, give it time to rest then rolled it out to line 4 large flan dishes ready to make quiches (or egg flans). Filled with softened onion, and mixed peppers, cheese and and egg mixture, the quiches were soon baking in the over. Lucy took charge of making a carrot soup for starter helped by Dani and they later went on to make a de-constructed trifle (aka, fruit, custard and cake) while Gill prepared some risotto to go with the quiche. We had around 36 guests who thoroughy enjoyed the meal, and we really felt that we made a flantastic contribution to the evening.

It was one of our hottest evenings at FoodCycle but that didn't put off our trio of GoodGymers from volunteering at this regular task. Gill had got started on a rustle up pudding knowing that there were lots of eggs to use up. She came up with an idea for a fruit flan - orange sponge topped with crème pâtisiere and fresh fruit. Meanwhile Martin was on the main course supporting the team to create a delicious looking plate of roasted potatoes, slaw and veg. Fawaz was a hands on host getting the hall set up, serving the guests and making sure people had plenty of squash to stay hydrated. Guest numbers were down but we think that with the weather being so hit people were just not wanting to be out in the heat.

Tonight 6 Goodgymers used their talents to cook up a great meal for the Food cycle guests. We served 27 guests plus take aways. Gill did the Food collection, Dani and Lucie were cooks extraordinaire and Abdulrahman,Fawaz and Neill served the guests with smiles and generosity. Starter: Carrot and parsnip soup Main : Roast vegetables with cauliflower cheese in an onion gravy Dessert: Cake and custard