Fifteen years ago, Bafreen and her family relocated from Iraq to the UK in pursuit of a better future. Now, in 2024, the mother of two is getting ready to re-enter the workforce after completing a school support course and joining a community kitchen project, where I met her for the first time. “Before I came here, I was a primary school teacher in Iraq. I'm not working anymore. I don't have lots of activity where I get to communicate with new people. So this group gives me a chance to become more confident and familiar with speaking in English,” she said.
Established in 2021, Sanctuary Cookalongs in Preston, is among a growing number of community kitchen projects that fosters integration by upskilling people to cook cultural dishes from all over the world. Cooking workshop courses take place on a weekly basis from 9am to 1pm, bringing together professionals, community members, immigrants, migrants, refugees and asylum seekers to make their favourite meals. Previous dishes have ranged widely from a Pakistani chicken pilau to a butternut squash soup.
Ashton Methodist Church is where it all began. Upon the arrival of 11 Syrian families in the city, escaping war, in 2016, project lead, Jen Rankin, held English conversation classes, a creche, and cultural evenings to help the families assimilate into British life. Since 2016, the Lancashire Refugee Integration Team (LRIT) have resettled 2427 people across Lancashire through multiple resettlement schemes, including 382 people in Preston, from countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Sudan and Hong Kong.
I recently attended one of the Cookalongs workshops, which are hosted in Preston's various venues, to cook an affordable lunch of Halibut fish cakes with caramelised carrots, broccoli and sweet corn, budgeted at £1.50 per head. Swiftly at 9.30am, on a Wednesday morning at The Church Ascension and Community Centre, a circle of chairs was formed where all 15 of us discussed our purpose for joining the group.
Community Chef Donovon Holmes, with 37 years of experience in the culinary industry, explained how the day usually goes, “We encourage everyone to share their favourite meals, this could be a dish from their home country, because each week we'd like to have someone else get involved in preparing a session. The cooking demonstration starts at 10am and by 12pm, we all sit down to have a community meal and share recipes.”
According to a 2023 poll report by national charity, FoodCycle - shared community dining fights feelings of loneliness and food insecurity. Among those who attended FoodCycle's weekly community meals, 84 per cent said they had made new friends. “I enjoy the classes very much because you get to meet people from different walks of life. We all learn from each other,” said Holmes.
Individuals are encouraged to lead a cooking workshop as a means to collaborate and connect with local networks. Project lead, Rankin, said, “I want Bafreen to lead a workshop now. It will develop her English language skills. When you're cooking, the language you use, you can see the action. So it's easy to learn. Here, she's got this skill, and I'd suggest why don't you go to college to become a teacher. It’s giving people pathways to improve not only their personal development, but professional skills also.”
Co-chair and professional community teacher, Abida Kabir, of Pakistani heritage moved to Preston in the 1980s. Like many other immigrants she could not speak fluent English at first. “When I came from Pakistan, 40 years ago, of course there was a language barrier. We didn’t know where to go or how to access places, so I know the struggle. At the time, the Preston Quaker Meeting House made space to meet new people through one dish parties where you could also practice speaking in English. Here we continue to support people.” Now she plays a role in encouraging stay-at-home housewives to engage in events and share their skills with others, so that they can eventually become financially independent. Alongside leading the cooking workshops she teaches courses on textile design and henna painting.
To increase opportunities of employability in the hospitality and food industry, the inclusion team helps members to obtain a Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety certificate. Developing a community kitchen cookbook is one of the next steps for the team. Rankin said, “I want to train them to Chef Donovon’s standard, so they can teach their recipe in an informal or formal setting, but we can also sell them, to become less reliant on grant funding.”
Funded by Preston City Council, Sanctuary Cookalongs, initial aim was to provide support to war refugees and asylum seekers, but it has gradually expanded to welcoming people of all backgrounds. The team is now looking to get its own venue and kitchen space. Rankin said: “I've picked up so many wooden spoons, I don't know who they belong to anymore. There's so much more to do. I get frustrated knowing that there's so many people in this area that are sitting on their own. They're sad and anxious. They're addicted to drugs or alcohol. I want to reach out to those people and say, ‘come and see what we do here,’ because having that sense of belonging, it makes you feel good.”
