The pioneering Life Kitchen in the Grade II-listed lodge in Mowbray Park was opened by Nigella Lawson back in 2019 and has gone on to make headlines around the globe thanks to its work with cancer and Covid patients whose tastebuds have been affected. Sign up to our daily newsletter Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Sunderland Echo, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Inspired by his mother Krista, who died from cancer when she was just 47, Washington-born Ryan set up the school to help other patients and give the joy of food back to them, using ingredients and textures designed to combat the loss of taste and smell some experience as a result of their treatment.
Advertisement Advertisement Along with Life Kitchen co-founder Kimberley Duke, Ryan has also published a number of cookery books and is a regular in TV kitchens, such as The Lorraine Show. When the pandemic hit, they adapted and ran online sessions, whilst also producing a book for those whose sense of taste and smell was affected by Covid, which snowballed into a global story, reaching 2.8billion media hits, from Canada to Australia and even Russia.
They have also recently launched a Life Kitchen range with Holland & Barrett. But while the brand will continue, its Sunderland headquarters, which has held cookery classes for many, will close at Mowbray Park. Advertisement Advertisement Ryan says contin.
