#11 - Jen Goss: Food as Care, Community Building, and Teaching Practical Confidence

In this episode, Sam Bell speaks with Jen Goss about food as care, teaching cooking through doing, and creating systems that help people look after themselves and each other.Drawing on Jen’s experience across hospitality, catering, and building the charity Cegin y Bobl (The People’s Kitchen), this conversation explores practical capability, community resilience, and the quiet leadership of feeding people well. Jen reflects on education, curriculum reform, and how cooking restores confidence, agency, and belonging.This is a conversation about nourishment, systems thinking in education, and the everyday practices that strengthen communities.This episode explores• Food as a practice of attention, care, and belonging• Teaching practical skills that restore confidence• Cooking as agency and companionship• Rethinking education curriculum and real-world capability• Building community kitchens and systems that support everyday life• The dishes and places that carry memory and meaningGuest links• Jen Goss: https://www.ourtwoacres.co.uk• Cegin y Bobl: https://ceginybobl.co.uk• The Do Lectures (watch a talk, apply to attend): https://thedolectures.com/events/do-wales/• Welsh blankets, Sian and fforest: https://www.instagram.com/coldatnight/• The delicious cheese store, Ultracomida: https://www.ultracomida.co.uk/page/venues/aberystwyth  Jen’s books• Do Preserve https://thedobook.co/products/do-preserve-make-your-own-jams-chutneys-pickles-cordials• Do Smoke https://thedobook.co/products/do-smoke-a-modern-guide-to-cooking-and-curingChapters03:00 Creating food for many, simple curation and beauty09:30 The simple omelet and how food gathers people14:10 Community kitchens and collaborating to cook for the masses19:30 Teaching cooking to children and teachers, transforming communities 34:00 Delegation, favourite dishes and wild, wintry West WalesExplore furtherBook a Lab: https://naturalgenius.com.auLearn more about Sam: https://samanthabell.com.auSubscribe to hear future episodes.CreditsHosted by Samantha (Sam) Bell in Melbourne and Wales, 22 January, 2026Produced at the Travencore, Violet Town, Langwarrin and Peregian offices, 26 January - 20 February, 2026Natural Genius Podcast https://naturalgenius.com.au