Celebrating Culture Through Cuisine

Learn how to make delicious meals and explore the culture of far-off destinations without travelling too far from your doorstep. SANDBAG's popular Global Kitchen program started last month at the Fitzgibbon Community Centre with a series of free fortnightly cooking workshops.

SANDBAG is a community organisation providing vital service support in the areas of domestic violence, disability, homelessness and employment.

Neighbourhoods and community program manager Erin Williams said Global Kitchen had been run twice before and this was the third course. � � �

The idea of it is a cultural exchange program,� Erin said. We use the context of food and cooking to explore cultures and the cultural significance of food around the world.

There will be 10 different classes run between now and January and each class will have a different cultural focus and a different chef.�

The classes kicked off with participants learning about traditional dishes from Azerbaijan and Algeria under the guidance of a chef from those cultures. This month, three classes will take place with Luz Mosquera presenting a traditional Colombian recipe on 16 October, and the Pluck Upz sharing a Maori dish as well as music and dance on 30 October.

The participants are involved in the meal preparation and in cooking the recipe,� Erin said.

At the same time the chef is giving them a lesson on their culture and why these particular dishes are important, and if they have a particular cultural significance such as they are eaten at a certain time of year, or mark a milestone or celebration. Then we sit down and eat the meal together.�

Places are limited, with 12 participants able to attend each class. Tickets for each event are released fortnightly.

They go like hotcakes,� Erin said. But there's lots of opportunity for people to get involved between now and January. It's not necessarily that they've missed out altogether.�

At the end of the program, SANDBAG will release a recipe book featuring the dishes from each of the Global Kitchen classes.

Erin said they were still looking for potential chefs to host forthcoming workshops.

If you are from a cultural background and would like to share food from your culture, there are still spots available,� she said.

For information keep an eye on SANDBAG's Facebook page.

Global Kitchen - The 3rd Course
Fitzgibbon Community Centre
545 Roghan Road, Fitzgibbon.