Sara’s Kitchen, Norwood’s training unit for adults with learning disabilities, has been officially opened at the Kennedy Leigh Family Centre in Hendon with tributes to Sara Morein, in whose memory it is named.

Mrs Morein was a member of Food For You, a North-West London charity set up by a group of female Jewish friends and family, which has supported the kitchen project.

After her death in 2015, the remaining committee members decided to release their fifth cookbook, Simply Food For You, in her honour, with proceeds going towards Sara’s Kitchen, which also incorporates a café.

Food For You’s Susie Kahn said the book had been “incredibly well received. We’ve sold around 1,500 copies and some of the recipes have become home staples for people, which is great.

“Today is very exciting and also emotional. Sara was so loved by us all and we really feel she would have been proud of what we’ve done.”

David Morein said the project represented two of his wife’s major passions — preparing delicious food and helping others.

Opening the kitchen, Norwood chief executive Elaine Kerr hoped it would “serve the memory of Sara, who meant so much to so many people, and that the people who go through the training here experience joy in food preparation and learning.”

Catering training manager Mariette Mensah said that having the facilities to make hot food had been a huge boost to the enterprise.

“We can teach people to make dishes like soups and quiches and we’re also busier as a café because we can serve hot meals. The people taking the training are very excited. Change can make people nervous but they’re really enjoying it.”