This is us Fergal, Lucy and Caitriona (I am the founder and CEO of Giftitrecipes.com) The company started in the summer of 2021 out of my love for cooking and my work with children in schools and community settings. Cooking has always been a central focus of the activities I have co-ordinated for the children in our programmes. It is an activity that is very nurturing and not only teaches life skills it also develops relationships, social skills and confidence with the added bonus of being a lot of fun as well.

My inspiration for this personalized recipe book came from a present that I gave to my cousin for his birthday. I think the world of my cousin Gerard, he has down syndrome and just loves cooking. His specialties are omelette, pizza and cheesecake. All of these recipes are included in the book. When I spend time with him, he always makes me think about appreciating the little things in life. We are all very proud of Gerard’s achievement in cooking and all the other skills that he has developed over the past number of years.

Lockdown during Covid gave me the perfect opportunity to work on a photo step by step recipe book of some of his favourite recipes. I then personalized it with photos of him and added some little messages to him. He loved it. When I showed it to family and friends, they thought it was a really good idea. Gerard often tells me that he uses his recipe book when he is cooking, and he loves looking at all of the photos and messages in his book.

A huge thanks must go to Alan Mc Cabe, Programme Director of Culinary Arts, DKIT for reviewing the recipes for me. You did a wonderful job.

Thank you to all my friends and family for your help and support. You got me this far and I really appreciate it. Massive thanks to you all xx