A Teddington mother is launching a new cookery business to help new mothers eat well, meet friends and enjoy valuable time off from the demands of parenthood.

Clair Jardella set up Scrummy Mummies Healthy Cooking Club after her own experience bringing up her two children and how she found many mothers frustrated by the lack of time and energy they had to plan, shop for and cook healthy meals.

She said: “So many people I spoke to were managing on bowls of cereal, sugary snacks, quick fix meals and takeaways, even when they were nursing their babies and needed the benefits of a healthy diet.

“They knew it was contributing to their exhaustion, but all of their energies were channelled into caring for their babies, and who could blame them for that?”

The cookery club will give mothers a chance to meet like-minded people and cook up healthy meals for the week while their children are cared for at the on-site crèche.

The organisation, shopping and planning would be taken care of with fresh ingredients ready to use, recipes planned and tested and the kitchen cleaned, prepped and ready to go.

Mrs Jardella, who has lived in the borough all her life, was spurred on to set up the business after getting involved in Richmond’s den competition last year.

She said: “Being a finalist in the Richmond’s den competition really gave me the impetus and the confidence to go ahead and turn my dream into a reality.

“It’s been a fantastic journey setting the whole thing up, and I can’t wait to get started and welcome some mums through my door.”

For more information, visit scrummymummiescooking.co.uk or email clair@scrummymummiescooking.co.uk.