An award-winning cook has been appointed as Britain's first National Loneliness chef in a bid to tackle social isolation through communal eating.

Dartford-born chef Andrew Clarke has created six simple recipes with the aim of inspiring young people to spark a conversation about mental health in the kitchen.

The cooking campaign to combat the "millennial loneliness epidemic" has been spearheaded by flat-sharing SpareRoom with the backing of The Campaign to End Loneliness.

It follows a survey of 1,045 flat sharers by SpareRoom which revealed people who eat together find it improves their mood (87%).

The chef director of London’s St Leonard's restaurant has created The Food to Share recipe book to encourage house mates to cook for one another.

Recipes include everything from a vegan vegetable-packed linguine, a one-pan roast chicken and turkey tacos.

Food was not Andrew's first love, with the Dartfordian first entering the kitchen to earn enough money to support his dreams of touring the world as a rock guitarist.

His first real culinary journey was carved out at The Swan in West Malling, where he was introduced to local produce, farming and butchery.

Andrew was chosen to become a National Loneliness Chef following the success of his Pilot Light campaign, which he launched with former Tunbridge Wells chef, Doug Sanham to support the mental health of people in the catering industry.

Having personally battled with his own mental health, Andrew decided to post about his experiences on social media last year.

The response was overwhelming with everything from young chefs starting out to fully fledged Michelin-starred cooks sharing their mental health stories.

Andrew believes sharing a good cooked meal can go a long way towards combatting feelings of isolation. He said: “Time spent together over a good meal will unite strangers, deepen friendships and leave people feeling more positive about the world around them.

"Sharing is at the heart of the recipes I’ve created, and they are simple enough so those who aren’t naturals in the kitchen or have loads of spare time on their hands can still get involved.

"I hope people will bond over preparing, cooking and eating this food together, and ultimately help those feeling lonely.”

Matt Hutchinson, communications director for SpareRoom, added: “We all know that food brings people together. So, in a time when we hear more and more about young people experiencing loneliness, getting people to cook and eat together is a great way to remind us we’re not alone.

"Sometimes you end up living with people you don’t know so well, or you just have different schedules and eating together doesn’t quite happen.

"It’s important to make time, even just once a week, to sit down with the people you live with and share a meal, a chat, and maybe a bit more of each other’s lives in the process.”

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