Alex Erotokritou, second from right, with his cooking chums

MORE spaces are needed for men to socialise, according to a community centre teaching them how to cook.

The monthly classes have been running in the Old Laundry on the ­Priory Green Estate in King’s Cross.

Those attending said Cook For Good had shown that these spaces are essential for older men to afford to eat, socialise and stay connected. They are calling for donations to be made to ensure the classes can stay up and running.

Terry Quinan, who comes from the Regent’s Park estate to Priory Green once a week, said: “It’s a pity it’s only once a month … I’m on my own, we make more than we need in the class so I can just freeze the rest and then I know I have a meal for the night.

“The price of stuff nowadays is really high, especially if you’re on your pension.

“You’ve got to think ‘do I put gas and electricity on or do I buy food?’ And if you can’t put gas and electricity on then you can’t cook. You’re caught between a rock and a hard place. So this is handy.”

Terry Quinan

He added: “The ­com­pany is good here. You know you can always communicate – there’s someone there if you’ve got a problem.”

Mr Quinan wants services like this open year-round as he lives on his own and wants to be able to be around people when he can. “I come in here, have a coffee, and go home. I’m one of those people where if I’ve got nothing to do, I get really bored. If I’m on the go, I’m all right.

“Christmas time is the worst time. Unless I can find somewhere where I can go round and get Christmas dinner, which I will do, but I find Christmas is very boring,” he said.

Alex Erotokritou, who lives just off Essex Road, says men need specific groups to get them out and socialising.

“Most of the other places we go similar to this, you go in, and for every 10 people, you’re lucky to see one man. It’s not the case in here – this is the only place breaking the rule,” he said.

He added: “The block where I live, there’s about 23 flats. Mostly, they’re all pensioners living on their own – a few of them are ladies, but the majority of them are men. I try to get the men to come to things, but they’re always finding a reason not to.

“I even share my shopping with them sometimes, so they know they could get something. But, for some reason, something in them is pulling them away.”

Karen Mattison, one of the co-founders of Cook for Good, said: “We noticed less men coming in regularly. For some men, they’ve never had to cook or learned how to do it for themselves, they might be on their own for the first time now.

“People come in, they make friends, and they stay for that.”