A chef from St Kew, who appeared on the BBC’s Great British Menu, says his dyslexia won’t stop him writing a cookbook.
Andi Tuck is a Cornish chef and southwest England regional semi-finalist in BBC’s Great British Menu. The chef, who competed in this year’s series is dyslexic, but despite the challenges that dyslexia can bring, is still planning to launch his first cookbook next year.
Andi said: “I took to cooking as a way to be creative and feel empowered and successful without words – but since Great British Menu I am determined to produce my own cookbook and won’t be letting my dyslexia hold me back.”
This comes after a study found the teachers in the top and bottom five cities across the UK to be most confident in teaching students with dyslexia.
Commenting on the results of the survey, the Cornish chef said: “I was quite lucky at my school, but I did have moments where I really suffered with my dyslexia and found I wasn’t very well supported or understood by teachers.”
The study, which delved into how confident teachers are when teaching students with dyslexia, found that less than a third (28%) of teaching staff respondents from the UK as a whole were confident in their ability to support students with dyslexic needs.
Honor Page, director of The Dyslexia Shop added: “I can’t speak for everyone, but I have spoken to hundreds of sufferers over the years who have consistently found themselves being overlooked, under supported and generally treated in a way that makes them feel stupid, rather than special.
“Dyslexia research has been extensive over the last two decades and we have evidence to show that with the right guidance, training and tools we can reduce the knock-on effect in the classroom and make dyslexic children feel capable and confident in their futures.
“It’s a shame to see that the government is still underfunding essential classroom materials when they can make such a huge difference to a child’s day.”