A BOLD new community project is turning heads in Looe, as CreativeLooe CIC prepares to launch the film of Flavours of Looe – a student-led cookbook that is reshaping how the Cornish fishing town sees its own culinary identity.

The initiative places students from Looe Community Academy at the heart of a creative collaboration that brings together fishermen, artists, chefs and high-profile supporters. GCSE pupils have stepped beyond the classroom to become published artists, documenting the town’s food heritage through photography, illustration and storytelling.

CreativeLooe CIC says the project demonstrates what happens when young people are trusted with real responsibility and given a platform to lead.

The timing is significant. Fans of BBC drama Beyond Paradise will recognise the fictional Shipton Abbott café “Ten Mile Kitchen”. But locals have long pointed out the on-screen culinary hotspot is actually based on Looe’s own Sardine Factory – a Michelin-recognised restaurant that has become a symbol of the town’s evolving gourmet status.

Flavours of Looe leans into that reality, reframing the town’s food scene through the eyes of its youngest residents.

Students worked directly with day-boat fishermen, local restaurants and food producers, gathering stories and ingredients from the harbour to the kitchen. The result is a cookbook that doubles as a cultural archive, capturing the rhythms of a working fishing town while showcasing contemporary Cornish cuisine.

CreativeLooe CIC says what makes the project unusual is the direction of influence. Rather than students following professionals, it was the young people’s enthusiasm and artistic drive that inspired established chefs and fishermen to take part and reflect on their own heritage.

That impact has reached even further.

Her Majesty the Queen, Patron of the Cornwall Community Foundation, has contributed her personal favourite fish recipe to the cookbook, a gesture organisers say gave the project a “royal seal of approval”. Television presenter Richard Madeley has also supported the initiative, helping raise its profile beyond Cornwall.

The accompanying film charts the journey from harbour to classroom, following students as they sketch, paint and document their encounters with Looe’s food industry. Early digital screenings have already attracted more than 52,500 views, suggesting strong public interest in the project’s message: that creativity and community can transform perception.

Copies of Flavours of Looe are currently available exclusively in the town, stocked at the Guildhall Market Place, both Co-op stores, and a range of local businesses including Chennai Indian Fusion, New Peking Garden, Ocean and Earth Thai Restaurant, Pengelly’s Fish Shop, The Sardine Factory and Yamas.

An exhibition of the original student artwork will take place at the Looe Food Festival on June 14, where CreativeLooe CIC will host a dedicated stall in the Guildhall, giving visitors a closer look at the work behind the cookbook.

Lesa Welch, lead art teacher at Looe Community Academy, said the project has had a lasting impact on students: “The real story of Looe is found in our classrooms. Our students haven’t just illustrated a book; they’ve led a community movement. To see professional chefs and even Her Majesty the Queen inspired by their work is incredible.”