Cooking Club.
And I share this for a reason which I’ll tell later.
I mentioned before about the environment, atmosphere, culture, desire etc of learning. It must begin with the person seeking. And here’s perhaps one manifestation of it.
The Club sits on the Whatsapp group as a resource centre to ask questions connected to cooking like where to source certain ingredients which may not be widely available here. Recipe sharing happens but not as often.
For this one there’s four different nationalities though each have their differing background. Nevertheless, the food like many places around the world has a colonized leaning towards western cuisine, which gives us all something to think about as to why really.
Anyhow, approximately once a month the small group of men in this group meet up for breakfast or lunch. The rules are each must bring an item or two, that they have yet to know how to do with confidence. It can’t be their first attempt either. Something they’ve given a shot for a few times but have yet to be of satisfaction to themselves.
Additionally, one person may also take charge to conduct some teaching for that session. Say the invitation is at 1pm and those interested can come 12.30pm to watch how that one dish is prepared, ideally not from scratch so as to save time.
Meanings.
It’s important to look not necessarily deeper into things, perhaps wider. At one glance it may be dismissed well, some dudes who merely want to learn how to cook. And this could be true as a start.
However in it, there’s mutual bonding between brothers, encouragement for learning, organizing of communities – however little and small it may be. These men bring their kids too, so it’s also break time for the mothers.
The flipside.
How often have we heard when issues are being spoken about, lines such as ‘they should do this,’ ‘I don’t understand why the government don’t do that,’ ‘our schools are not teaching,’ etc.
The power of change, in whatever context, is lost when you take the baton out of your hands and place it as a blame in others. Imagine if all the energy used to comment about say, the poverty of a country channeled to the welfare system but instead toward each and every person donating a small amount of money or time.
When something within leaves, what is left behind is without. The same though doesn’t apply the other way around. 🙂
Pic: most recent meet. Fish curry, salad. Brown rice, white rice with saffron and raisins. Somali rice Somali and tea. Skewed okra didn’t make it but Tiramisu did. Some chutney and mushakkal juice on the side.
