Edinburgh Food Social

What Edinburgh Food Social does

Edinburgh Food Social is a Community Interest Company (CIC, SC552200) operating from 47 Peffer Place in the Craigmillar area of Edinburgh. Founded in 2015, the organisation runs community food projects in Craigmillar and Niddrie, delivering in-school cookery programmes (Prestonfield Primary, Niddrie Mill Primary, Castlebrae Community Campus, St Francis RC Primary), youth clubs, food-truck outreach, and food-bank recipe kits that have produced over 125,000 meals for people in need since 2020.

The organisation is run by experienced chefs and monetises a commercial cookery-school and catering operation to cross-subsidise its community work. Revenue streams include cookery classes priced at £18–£360 per session (single workshops, two-day youth courses, full-day experiences, and a REHIS-accredited Elementary Food Hygiene course), sustainable wedding and event catering, sale of vouchers and merchandise (aprons, beanies, tea towels, seasonal preserves), and donations/grants (notably Cashback for Communities for the Friday Night Lights programme and tiered Donorbox donations at £25/£50/£100). Distribution is via a website e-commerce shop, the on-site kitchen, a mobile food truck, and direct school/community delivery.

The business has no proprietary technology platform; capabilities sit in kitchen facilities, the food truck, and chef expertise. Governance is provided by a board chaired by Dr Margaret Coughtrie with functional leads covering safeguarding, dietetics, and treasury. The organisation has won eleven regional and industry awards, including three consecutive Food Education NPO of the Year titles (2022/23–2024/25), Responsible Business of the Year from Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, Caterer of the Year 2024, and WISE100 2023.

Name

Edinburgh Food Social

Legal name

Edinburgh Food Social CIC

Website

https://edinburghfoodsocial.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Edinburgh Food Social is an Edinburgh-based Community Interest Company that runs free community food projects in Craigmillar and Niddrie, cross-subsidised by paid chef-led cookery classes, sustainable wedding and event catering, and grants and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cooking Education and Catering Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Caterers (722320), Mobile Food Services (722330)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA), Catering & Events Food Service (EDALADAC), Institutional Catering (Schools, Hospitals, Government) (THAFAIAE)

Keywords

• Community food education
• Cookery class services
• Sustainable event catering
• Social enterprise catering
• Food poverty programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Cookery Classes: Public and private cookery classes for individuals, families, and groups, priced at £18–£120 per session. Classes range from single-session workshops (e.g., Scottish Mezze, Dumplings & Noodles, Pastry Skills) to multi-day youth clubs and family sessions.
2. Catering Services: Chef-led sustainable catering for weddings and events, which both generates revenue and serves as a learning demonstration for community participants. Catering is described as a key funding mechanism for the social enterprise.
3. Vouchers and Merchandise: Sale of cookery class vouchers (single class and full-day experience vouchers) and branded merchandise including aprons and beanies.
4. Donations and Grants: The organisation relies on donations and grant funding to subsidise its community food projects and food bank recipe kit programme. Donations are solicited via the website at £25, £50, and £100 levels.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Edinburgh Food Social is a social enterprise that runs chef-led cookery classes and sustainable wedding and event catering to fund its community food projects. The community projects include cookery education in schools, youth clubs, a mobile food truck, family cooking sessions, and food bank recipe kits targeted at the Craigmillar and Niddrie neighbourhoods of Edinburgh. Revenue from the commercial cookery classes and catering is reinvested to subsidise free community food programmes addressing food poverty and food culture.

Product overview

Edinburgh Food Social is a social enterprise operating as a unified cookery school and catering service with community food projects. The core offering consists of cooking classes (single-session workshops and multi-day courses) and catering services (wedding and event catering), both run by experienced chefs. Community food projects including youth clubs, school cooking programs, and food truck outreach are funded through the commercial cooking classes and catering operations. The product portfolio includes 20+ distinct cookery class offerings spanning techniques (pasta-making, pastry skills, fermentation), themes (Scottish cuisine, Asian cooking, Christmas), and audiences (families, youth, professionals), alongside merchandise (aprons, beanies, tea towels) and donation options supporting community food initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cookery Classes Hands-on chef-led cookery classes for individuals, families, and groups covering a range of techniques (pasta-making, pastry, fermentation, seafood, desserts) and themes (Scottish seasonal cuisine, Asian cooking, festive dishes), priced at £18–£120 per session. Includes themed workshops such as Scottish Mezze, Dumplings and Noodles, Perfect Pasta, Pastry Skills, Mussels Masterclass, Christmas Canapés, and Air Fryer Essentials.
• Wedding Catering Sustainable chef-led catering for weddings using seasonal, locally sourced Scottish produce to create memorable dining experiences. Booked directly through the website by couples planning weddings in Edinburgh.
• Event Catering Sustainable catering service for corporate events, festivals, and community gatherings in Edinburgh, prepared and delivered by experienced chefs using seasonal and local ingredients.
• Community Food Projects Food education and meal provision programmes delivered in partnership with schools, youth organisations, libraries, and community groups in Craigmillar and Niddrie, including youth cookery clubs, school cooking sessions, food bank recipe kits, and family cooking programmes addressing food poverty.
• Good Food Youth Club Two-day hands-on cookery course for young people aged 12 and above, using seasonal ingredients to build kitchen skills and confidence. Priced at £120 for the two-day course or £60 per single day.
• Good Food Apprenticeship Apprenticeship programme providing culinary training and hospitality skills to young people, supporting entry into the catering and hospitality industry.
• Elementary Food Hygiene (REHIS) Course One-day accredited food hygiene course meeting EU Regulation 852/2004 requirements, leading to a REHIS Elementary Food Hygiene qualification. Priced at £90 per person and includes lunch and assessment.
• Cookery Class Voucher Gift voucher redeemable against any single cookery class, valid for one year. Available alongside the Full Day Cookery School Voucher for Two (£360) for gift and experience purchases.
• Full Day Cookery School Voucher for Two Full-day cookery experience voucher for two people priced at £360, including preparation of at least four dishes together in the Edinburgh kitchen.
• Seasonal Preserves Selection of homemade jams, chutneys, relishes, and jellies produced in the Edinburgh Food Social kitchen using seasonal Scottish produce.
• Edinburgh Food Social Apron 100% organic cotton embroidered bib apron with Edinburgh Food Social branding, sold for £24 via the online shop.
• Edinburgh Food Social Beanie Branded beanie hat featuring the Edinburgh Food Social logo, sold for £24 via the online shop.
• Edinburgh Food Social Tea Towel 100% cotton tea towel featuring the 'In Food We Trust' design, sold for £12 via the online shop.
• Community Food Donation

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 125,000 meals cooked for people in need since 2020
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lyra Performing Arts CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLyra is a performing arts organisation based in Craigmillar. Edinburgh Food Social collaborates with Lyra at the annual Bright & Wild Festival, working with young people to develop festival menus and delivering catering. The organisations share a belief in putting young people at the heart of community activities.
• Starpic (Bingham)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStarpic is a community organisation in Bingham, Edinburgh that runs activities for local children. Edinburgh Food Social partnered with Starpic to deliver a five-week series of free cooking workshops for local children, reaching over 25 young people.
• Craigmillar Library / Mindful Mums GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdinburgh Food Social ran a series of cooking sessions with the Mindful Mums group at Craigmillar Library, reaching up to 15 mums and babies each week. Sessions focused on building cooking confidence for new parents.
• Castlebrae Community CampuscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCastlebrae Community Campus is a secondary school in Edinburgh where Edinburgh Food Social runs regular cooking sessions with high school students (ESB pupils), including preparing festive canapés for school events.
• Prestonfield Primary SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrestonfield Primary School hosted a six-week cookery and food education programme for P7 pupils, culminating in a community meal prepared and served by the students.
• Niddrie Mill Primary SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNiddrie Mill Primary School ran a 12-session weekly cookery programme with P7 pupils, reaching 58 children across two classes, with a community meal outreach component.
• St Francis RC Primary SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt Francis RC Primary School adjoins Niddrie Mill Primary School; community meals were shared with families at shared pick-up times.
• Craigmillar Literacy TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdinburgh Food Social collaborated with the Craigmillar Literacy Trust on a pots-and-pens project where children wrote their own recipes as part of cookery sessions.
• Food banks and community pantries (Edinburgh area)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdinburgh Food Social distributes recipe kits to food banks and community pantries across its area. Kits are designed to be practical, affordable, and enjoyable to cook, with measured ingredients and clear instructions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Leiths School of Food and Wine: Edinburgh-based cookery school offering hands-on professional and recreational cooking classes using experienced chefs. Directly comparable in product (cookery classes) and geography, though not a social enterprise.
• Jamie's Ministry of Food: Cookery school chain teaching basic cooking skills to communities and vulnerable groups, using chef-led classes to address diet and food knowledge gaps. Comparable mission and delivery model.
• Made in Hackney: UK food charity delivering plant-based cookery and food education to disadvantaged London communities, using chef-led classes to address food poverty, health and sustainability. Highly comparable mission, chef-led delivery model, and food bank recipe kit activities.
• Chefs in Schools: UK charity placing professional chefs into school kitchens to improve school food and food education for children. Directly comparable school-based food education model targeting similar communities.
• Edinburgh New Town Cookery School: Local Edinburgh cookery school offering recreational and professional cookery courses. Same geographic market and overlapping class-style product offering.
• The Edinburgh Community Food Initiative: Edinburgh-based food charity tackling food poverty and supporting community food growing/cooking. Direct geographic and mission overlap with EFS's community food work in the same city.
• Trussell Trust Food Banks: UK food bank network providing emergency food parcels including recipe/meal kits to people facing food poverty. Edinburgh Food Social's recipe kit distribution into food banks directly interfaces with this network.
• The Clink Charity: UK charity running training restaurants where food service and chef training support rehabilitation for prison-leavers. Comparable social enterprise combining hospitality/catering with education and impact outcomes.

Broad incumbents

• Soil Association Food for Life: UK-wide programme delivering food education, school cooking and catering accreditation across many communities. Broader scale programme touching similar schools/communities but delivered as certification rather than direct cookery teaching.

Regional players

• Social Bite (Edinburgh): Edinburgh-based social enterprise combining a café/catering business with employment and food donation programmes for homeless people. Comparable Scottish social enterprise combining food businesses with social mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EdinburghFoodSocial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/edinburgh-food-social
• Instagraminstagram.com/edinburghfoodsocial

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Edinburgh Food Social