Accessible Chef

Our goal as providers and caregivers is to give people with disabilities an everyday life.  What is an everyday life?  According to the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP), “An everyday life is about opportunities, relationships, rights, and responsibilities.  It is about being a member of the community, having a valued role, making a contribution to society, and having one’s rights as a citizen fully respected.”  How do we do that?  One way is to equip them with basic knowledge and skills so they can become more independent.

There are many ways to help a person become more independent.  One specific way I am going to focus on is basic cooking skills.  Why is it important to teach people with disabilities basic cooking skills?  Watch this short video to find out:  https://youtu.be/n3JcnfwFenU. 

Accessible Chef, formerly Your Special Chef, is a website dedicated to teaching cooking skills to people with disabilities.  Anna Moyer, the creator, started the website in 2010 as her Girl Scout Gold Award Project after realizing she enjoyed teaching basic cooking skills to her brother who has Down syndrome.  The website provides a way to help people with disabilities attain more independence in the kitchen through features like free visual recipes and other resources.

There are over 300 recipes to choose from on the website.  Each visual recipe has a level of difficulty and is divided into three sections:  you will need, tools, and steps.  Each of those sections offers a picture along with a description.  The steps are broken down into specific tasks to make it more manageable to complete.  You can browse recipes by categories.  The recipes can be downloaded and saved or printed.  Once printed you can put them in a binder and create your own customized recipe book.  Most of the recipes are recipes that have been shared by the users.  You can create your own customized, visual recipe using the Recipe Creator on the website.  If you choose to share your recipe, you can fill out a form and submit it to Accessible Chef.

The resources section of the website includes resources on adaptive cooking tools, explanation of terms used within the website, fundamental kitchen equipment, shopping and time-saving strategies, strategies for efficient cooking, and basic cooking definitions, helpful cooking videos, assistive technologies, and a few other tools.

Accessible Chef also features a blog section.  Here you will find a variety of articles written by Anne, as well as guests, on themed recipes, kitchen hacks and adaptations, and helpful tips.

Now it’s time to cook!  Pick a favorite recipe, pull out the ingredients/tools needed, and make a special treat to share with someone!