Meet the Harrogate man who has cooked more than 3,000 meals for those in need during the coronavirus pandemic

From his home kitchen, Paul Welch has cooked more than 3,000 meals for people in the Harrogate community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Laura Reid reports.
Paul Welch, who has been cooking hundreds of meals for older and vulnerable peopleduring the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Ernesto RogataPaul Welch, who has been cooking hundreds of meals for older and vulnerable peopleduring the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Ernesto Rogata
Paul Welch, who has been cooking hundreds of meals for older and vulnerable peopleduring the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Ernesto Rogata

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then in many ways Paul Welch’s has become the heart of an entire community.

From there, he has single-handedly made more than 3,000 home-cooked meals in the past 14 weeks, filling the stomachs of people in need across Harrogate during the coronavirus pandemic.

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And, whilst lockdown restrictions are now being eased, his ten hour days of preparation and cooking are looking likely to be firmly on the menu for some time to come, with demand for the dishes showing few signs of slowing down.

Paul has been doing the shopping, preparation and cooking of the meals, which have been distributed to people across Harrogate. Photo: Ernesto RogataPaul has been doing the shopping, preparation and cooking of the meals, which have been distributed to people across Harrogate. Photo: Ernesto Rogata
Paul has been doing the shopping, preparation and cooking of the meals, which have been distributed to people across Harrogate. Photo: Ernesto Rogata

Homeless people and older people have been among the beneficiaries, as well as those who have been shielding and other vulnerable people in need.

In only the last week or so, a local primary school has also become a new addition to the network of people he supports.

“They’ve got a group of parents who have fallen between the cracks of the floorboard and haven’t got enough food. I’m going to support them.

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“I’m going to supply them with up to 60 meals a week and they can distribute them as they feel necessary,” he says.

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“I’ll continue as long as people are in need. When that starts to drop off, I might scale it back. But there’s no reason why I shouldn’t continue.

“I’m retired so I’m not fighting against a job. My time is my time. And I enjoy doing it. If it’s helping people, particularly older people, then it’s definitely worthwhile.”

The idea came to 58-year-old Paul when his two daughters visited him for a few days shortly before the lockdown was put into place.

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Both medics - one on an intensive care unit in London and the other in A&E in Yorkshire - they were speculating on the crisis that was about to unfold.

“There was a bit of tension because they knew they were going back to a firestorm.

“This was when Boris [Johnson] was saying we had to flatten the curve and protect the NHS. They were in the house with me and they were expecting the worst.

“I thought the best thing I can do for them is to send them away with some nutritious meals.

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“I sloped off into the kitchen and started cooking, putting them meals in foils and freezing them up so that when they left, when it came to food, everything would be fine.”

It struck Paul that there would be many others who could also benefit and he immediately got to work cooking and packaging up meals. The first 100 dishes left his home the Friday after lockdown began.

A friend then put him in touch with Harrogate charity Supporting Older People, which works to alleviate loneliness and isolation often experienced by those living on their own.

By week two, he had partnered with the organisation and still sends out up to 50 meals a day, five days a week, for many of those it supports.

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The charity gets in touch each Friday with a list of deliveries for the coming week; once Paul has cooked the meals, a team of his friends have been dropping them off to grateful recipients.

“It’s great that the charity have been there doing the front end logistics of identifying people, I’ve done the middle bit of producing food and friends of mine have done the final bit of actually distributing it,” he says.

Paul was also put in touch with others in need, including a group of homeless people, through members of the community and the Covid Co-Operation, Harrogate Facebook page.

He has now made more than 3,000 meals, equating to well over one tonne of food in 60 plus recipes, to help others.

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More than 50kg of chicken, around 100kg of both potatoes and onions, over 70kg of carrots and approximately 18 gallons of milk are among the ingredients that have gone into dishes including pies, stews, chilli, pasta bakes and curries.

“I’m not a chef, but I can cook good food,” Paul says. “If my girls like the food I eat, I don’t see any reason why others shouldn’t, especially because your children are always going to be the most critical.

“For somebody producing all the food in small batches, 3000 is immense. And it’s fun. The other side of it is it’s kept me busy during this pandemic. I’ve enjoyed doing it and I still do.”

If this all sounds like rather a mammoth operation for essentially a one-man band, it’s because it is.

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Paul heads to Morrisons three times a week to pick up ingredients, unloads them into fridges and his garage at his home on the outskirts of Harrogate, does all the preparation and cooking, serves the meals into foil trays, labels them up and then freezes them ready for delivery.

“I’m fortunate that it isn’t a small kitchen but it isn’t a huge, mega one either,” he says. “You just have to be sensible and make it work.”

“I’m doing all of this cooking and all of this shopping and all of this prep from a wheelchair,” he adds.

Paul went paragliding 20 years ago and came down “with a bump”. He broke his back and has been using a wheelchair ever since the accident.

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“I carried on as if everything was normal. I just got on with it. I didn’t question the situation,” he reflects. “Everything is a much greater challenge. Getting out of bed, getting in the car, going to Morrisons, going shopping, getting the volume of produce to make the volume of meals is a challenge.

“But you’ve just got to get on with it. You can’t flail around in the water. If you do that, you just sink. And that’s been it for the past 20 years, I’ve taken that approach to things. Sink or swim - so get on with it.”

The retired commercial interior designer, who ran his own company designing office spaces, has had widespread support from his community.

“They all know me [at Morrisons] now, it’s quite nice. They all welcome me by my name. The whole thing has been a very friendly affair, which of course lots of things have during this period we’re going through.

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“It’s brought out a friendliness in people and smiles. I’ve met some lovely neighbours where I live, who have been very supportive as well.”

Whilst Paul spent the best part of £2,000 funding the first 1,000 meals, he has since launched a crowdfunding campaign to continue producing the dishes, which has now generated more than £5,000.

His local postman also helped him launch a fundraising appeal among those living nearby, with generous neighbours posting envelopes of cash through his door or giving donations online.

“It’s immense,” he says. “I don’t get to see the people who receive the meals but the drivers who go out and deliver them for me say the gratitude is magnificent from everybody.

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“That can only make you feel good. I don’t see it stopping. There’s going to be a lot of people who will continue to be in need.”

To donate to support Paul’s work, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/pablos-kitchenFor more stories from the YP Magazine and The Yorkshire Post features team, visit our Facebook page.

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