Banned teen chef helps foodbank celebrate anniversary

A 14-year-old chef who was banned by a council from cooking at his family food truck has been providing live demonstrations and recipes at his local foodbank.

Dexter, from Four Marks in Hampshire, helped Alton Foodbank celebrate its 15th birthday on Saturday by cooking free tasters and sharing his favourite recipes with residents.

In February, Hampshire County Council threatened to prosecute the teen's father Greg Olejarka for letting Dexter work at their family food truck which it said was against the law under The Children & Young Persons Act 1933.

The family said Dexter continues to cook and no action has been taken by the local authority.

Hampshire County Council has been contacted for comment.

Speaking about his love for cooking, Dexter said: "This is my heritage, this is my life, this is what I want to do, this is my why."

At the event he made an array of samples for people, including a sausage and bean stew, mini upside-down cakes and flatbreads.

He said the recipes were his way of making exciting meals on a budget.

"Giving back to the community is something that we've always looked at, we've always tried to help people," he said.

He added that he also wanted to show other young people who had not found their talent "to not give up".

"When people bring you down, like me with the council, always come back stronger, don't let them stop you," Dexter said.

Sian Mills, project manager for Alton Foodbank, said they saw Dexter's story in the news and wanted to ask him to come along to the event.

She said the food he had cooked was "amazing" and residents were surprised that someone so young had made the recipe cards.

"You've got these young people like Dexter, thinking 'yes, I want to make a difference, it doesn't matter that I'm young, I can do something, I can help and I can make a difference'," Mills said.

She described the foodbank's anniversary as "a bit of a double-edged sword".

"People can't afford to feed themselves and we've had to be here for 15 years but then the plus side is that's 15 years when people in the community have donated food, they've donated their time, they've donated their money to help people that are less fortunate than them and that's what we are celebrating," she added.

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