Visit: www.menskitchen.org.au
Congratulations to Peter Watson, Founder of the Men’s Kitchens and President of the Men's Kitchens Association, who has been named as a Nominee in the 2026 Senior Australian of the Year for NSW.
Peter is transforming thousands of lives with a simple act – teaching older men to cook in a supportive, social setting. What began as six men in a Forestville kitchen 10 years ago has grown into a thriving Australia-wide network, where each month 100 volunteers run sessions for 200 participants.
Men's Kitchens are now open at Seaforth, Turramurra, Warriewood, Lindfield, the original at Forestville, at Castle Hill and in Canberra and on the Gold Coast.
Peter Watson, Founder of the Men’s Kitchen. Photo: Westfield local heroes awards 2020 screenshot
The NSW award recipients will be announced on Monday 10 November 2025 in a ceremony at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, which will also be available to watch online at australianoftheyear.org.au
The nominees for NSW are among 134 people being recognised across all states and territories. They will then join other state and territory recipients as finalists for the national awards announcement on 25 January 2026 in Canberra.
Peter sad this week he was ''Very honoured'' by being a nominee, and explained a little of how the Men's Kitchens began.
''It all started when my own father became a widower. He had no idea how to cook. From being a strong man all his life, his health slid into decline.
I didn’t want to be in the same situation if my own wife were to pass away before me.''
He also understood the silent challenges faced by older men – particularly isolation and loss of confidence.
''Once you get a bit of confidence about your cooking, you find worlds open up.''
More than a cooking class, Men’s Kitchen offers a caring environment to build practical skills and real camaraderie. There’s also access to a psychologist for participants who are struggling, such as from the loss of a partner.
Under Peter’s stewardship over the past ten years, the Men’s Kitchen has grown and flourished thanks to the extraordinary contributions of so many people; especially Head Chef Chris Chandler, Finance Manager Mick Norsa, and the steady mentorship of Chair David Brettell. Their commitment, along with that of countless others, has enriched the organisation and helped build a strong and supportive community.
''A special acknowledgment goes to the many, many Cooking Instructors — the backbone of the Men’s Kitchen. Without them, we simply couldn’t function. They’re the ones our members rely on each week, not just for culinary guidance but for the friendship, support, and encouragement that makes every session something to look forward to.''
'' At the heart of it all are the older blokes who have joined to learn to cook, make great mates, and keep the Men’s Kitchen humming week after week. Many have been part of our story for years, helping to create the friendly, connected environment that defines us.'' Peter, president of the Mens Kitchen Association says
What, to you, is the best thing about having started the Men’s Kitchen and seeing where it is 10 years on – where it has spread across Sydney and interstate?
From my personal point-of-view, whenever I go into a kitchen and the guys are cooking meals or when I see the smile on their face when they get to the end of cooking a meal they’ve never done before.
Many guys have never been in a kitchen before, never been in a supermarket, and then all of a sudden they’re sitting across eating a meal they’ve just prepared with their mate, because we cook in pairs, and they have this sense of accomplishment on their face.
And they love coming back, they get that real thrill out of creating something from nothing, that they never knew they were possible of before they came along.
So, for me, that is it - that gives me the satisfaction of what I’m doing.
Would Men’s Kitchens also be a point of contact and connection for people as well?
Oh goodness yes – guys initially come because they want to learn to cook, but then they keep coming back month after month, year after year, because they love that social connection, the camaraderie, the ribbing – all the stuff that blokes do – and are, as a result of that, pretty happy.
The other piece of that is, we can have a session where some guy comes in and he’s not quite right. You ask what’s going on and he says ; ‘oh, my wife’s just been diagnosed with dementia’ – and we have a social support arm within the organisation where we can bring a qualified psychologist to talk to the person and see what help they may need, or to just have a chat with a mate. So providing that depth allows us to support people going through something themselves or, if it’s something more serious we can guide them towards where they can get help and connect them with support services available.
And how can people support what Men's Kitchens are doing Peter - what do you need?
As we get bigger we need help top run an organisation that’s getting bigger by the day – so we need all that corporate help – we need sponsorship, we need volunteers who have that professional skills in running a corporate – things like HR skills or as I prefer it, people and culture skills – we’re not ‘human resources’, we’re people and we want to have people in those sort of roles – our IT people, our book-keeping people, all those roles that help us run it as a single lever entity. We need to have that sort of depth, and as we grow, we need more and great talents in those roles.
We really would like connect with a corporate sponsor who can see the vision and work beside us to help expand this to all the areas and places that are calling out for a Men's Kitchen. There must be a match for a company with what we're doing and someone with the professional expertise and will to make this happen, to help it grow.
''After a decade of operations, we’re developing, improving, and expanding continuously and we warmly welcome any offers of support to help us grow the Men’s Kitchen across the nation.
It’s been an incredible journey — one built on community, camaraderie, and care — and this nomination is truly a reflection of everyone who’s been part of it.''
''Although I would point out that the Men's Sheds started in Lane Cove and the Computer Pals for Seniors started in Forestville, so our area is somewhat of a crucible for starting initiatives that meet what people need and then spread elsewhere.''
If you are in that position, please email me at president@menskitchen.org.au
An overview of what's been done and how it is being done:
A first hand account of cooking at the Men’s Kitchen: “What do you do Clive?”
"I was a mining engineer before Covid struck and it occurred to me as a convenient time to hang up my boots and retire. I was asked to join the Men’s Kitchen by a friend at Probus.
So, I thought: Why not? The timing was right. And I suppose you could say that a couple of my friends had shamed me into learning to cook!
Increasingly I found that I was going to social gatherings at friends’ houses and ‘the man of the house’ would disappear into the kitchen and come back having cooked everyone dinner.
“What do you do Clive?” they started saying to me, tongue in cheek. The more our male friends were doing the cooking, the more it got me thinking. I realised I could no longer sit on my bum whilst my wife made me dinner!
It wasn’t that I was completely kitchen clueless. I was a guy who could cook for my family. I could boil an egg and maybe cook a chop.
I needed to up my game.
I thought to myself: What the hell, my wife’s cooked for 52 years. We lived in America with our children during my career. She studied nursing there and looked after our kids and still did the cooking, so I really figured it was my turn. (And yes, we’re still married!)
So in the last six months, I had been trying to break out of the meat and three veg mould. I joined the Men's Kitchen in July.
I’m not frightened by any recipe now. This is where Men’s Kitchen has been very helpful. You learn to cook dishes that are interesting and different.
I am currently going to Men’s Kitchen once a month but am keen to go twice a month when additional sessions open in Turramurra. The first dish I cooked at the Men's Kitchen was Chicken with Bacon and Mushrooms. We served it with mashed potatoes and garlic bread. It was a great dish and absolutely delicious.
I was impressed no end with the assistance we got from our instructors. I was working with Ben. I could really relate to him so easily. He taught us all sorts of things, and some things that may sound obvious but can be overlooked when you’re new to cooking; like don’t walk around the kitchen waving your sharp knife in the air. In that first session, for dessert we had Smashed Lemon Vanilla Cheesecake served in a glass. It was impressive. For our next session, we did Moussaka for main course. For dessert we made Apple Galette served with ice cream. It was extremely tasty and very classy.
I use the Men’s Kitchen recipe book at home. This week, I made a Chicken Braise. I went out and bought the listed ingredients. It was a variation on the first dish I did at Men’s Kitchen. I followed the simple instructions and it was really good. I’m not yet at the point in my cooking career where I can put my own spin on dishes, but with about 100 recipes in the Men’s Kitchen recipe book, I figure that if I can work my way through that, I’m doing OK.
I keep myself reasonably busy with family, friends and other commitments, but it’s not difficult to find half a day a month, or half a day twice a month to learn how to cook.
My wife is happy as Larry that I am taking over the kitchen, leaving her to cook the cakes and biscuits that she’s expert at. This is a very different sort of Clive. I said to my wife the other day: Soon I want to get six or so of our good friends around for dinner and I want to do all of the cooking.
Then I can impress them no end when they say: “What do you Clive?”
I can say: I do the cooking!''
Clive can cook!. Photo; Men's Kitchen
At each of our cooking sessions we conduct our program in the same manner:
- We meet at 11am and have a chat about the menu of the day discussing any significant points about each new recipe.
- Then we form into pairs, with each pair tasked to prepare a complete dish. They then choose which dish they would like to tackle. (Generally, a choice of a main, a dessert or any side dish of the day like flat bread or salad.)
- Prepare the meal with the cooking instructor helping us to learn by pointing out tips and techniques as we construct our dish.
- When the meal is ready, we sit together and enjoy the feast we have just made and have a general chat.
- Plan the menu for the next time we meet. At this point, we seek volunteers to buy the ingredients for each menu item, and a volunteer to wash the aprons and tea towels.
- Finally, we clear up, wash the dishes and depart by about 2pm.
Local Men's Kitchens
Forestville Kitchen
Forestville Community Hall: 28 Melwood Avenue, Forestville.
2nd Wednesday, 3rd Thursda, 3rd Friday and Last Friday each month apart from December 2025. Next sessions are 12th and 20th, 21st and 28th of November 2025
Warriewood Kitchen
Located at the Ted Blackwood Centre: Cnr. Jacksons and Boondah Roads.
1st Wednesday, 2nd Wednesday and 3rd Wednesday each month apart from December 2025. Next sessions are 12th and 19th of November 2025
Seaforth Kitchen
Our Seaforth Kitchen is located in the Seaforth Oval Pavilion and Community Centre, Wakehurst Parkway.
3rd Tuesday, 1st Thursday, 4th Friday each month apart from December 2025. Next sessions are 18th and 28th of November.
Men’s Kitchen at Warriewood - looks like a great bread and butter pudding.
Ku-ring-gai District
We take a break over December and January each year.
Lindfield Kitchen
We conduct three cooking sessions each month at the St Albans Anglican Church Hall in Lindfield.
1st Thursday, 2nd Thursday and 4th Thursday each month.
Turramurra
1st Friday, 2nd Friday and 3rd Friday each month.
Local Contact
If you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact us using the details provided below or alternatively you can complete our online enquiry form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Mobile 0421 511 733 (Calls only, no texts)
Hills District
Castle Hill
Meet in the Wesley Uniting Church Hall on Showground Road: 32-34 Showground Rd, Castle Hill
October 9 2025: Today marks the launch of the Men’s Kitchen Castle Hill kitchen with three brand new instructors and eight men participating.
How amazing is this? Most of the blokes came today as they have similar current life situations in that they have either lost their wife or they want to give her a break in the kitchen. But all have very different life experiences prior to that, and now they have an opportunity to share their story while they learn.
Another group is starting up in two weeks time. If you’re keen to learn too, call Alison on 0493 333 352.
Local Contact
If you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact us using the details provided below or alternatively you can complete our online enquiry form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Mobile 0493 333 352,. Email info.hd@menskitchen.org.au
Canberra
The Men's Kitchen Canberra district was launched in 2024. Initially basing our cooking sessions in Woden, in the Woden Valley Uniting Church hall.
This year another Men's Kitchen opened at Christ Church Hawker. The first cooking session kicked off on May 8, 2025, with a second group starting just two weeks later. Find out more here
Local Contact
If you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact us using the details provided below or alternatively you can complete our online enquiry form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Mobile 0456 408 003 (Calls only, no texts). Email: info.cn@menskitchen.org.au
Gold Coast District
We conduct two cooking session each month in our Robina Kitchen, at the Newlife Church Hall, 4 Greenwich Court Robina.
Local Contact
If you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact us using the details provided below or alternatively you can complete our online enquiry form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Mobile 0499 947 761 (Calls only, no texts). Email info.gc@menskitchen.org.au
Visit: www.menskitchen.org.au
Congratulations Peter Watson and the whole Men's Kitchen team on this nomination and recognition of what Men's Kitchens have done for so many so far, through establishing, once again, what was needed.
National Australia Day Council CEO Mark Fraser AO CVO said the NSW nominees are inspirational.
“The nominees for the NSW awards inspire others through extraordinary achievements and contributions,” said Mark.
“They remind us we are all capable of so much, whether it’s a simple act of care which creates a movement, a moment spent with someone in need that brings about change for many, fighting for what’s right or doing things differently.”
And the 'motto' for Men's Kitchens sir?
Old Dogs. New Tricks. Great Mates.
That is it - absolutely - it's on our logo:
