Women from different countries and cultures are bonding over their love of good food, thanks to a North Ayrshire Council project.
The 'Taste of Home' cooking group started through the Discovery Award, which is a fun and free personal challenge award for people aged over 50.
The Discovery Award Federation has four categories for its challenges: community involvement, recreational pursuit, hobby/interest and Journey of discovery.
Lucy Russell, a New Scots Locality Link Worker with the council’s Connected Communities service, supports the group, which meets in Argyle Community Centre in Saltcoats on Tuesdays from 9.30am to 1pm.
She explained: “The Discovery Award was undertaken by members of the Ukrainian community over the age of 50. ‘Skills’ were part of one of the sections, so they decided to start a cooking group to share dishes that are traditionally Ukrainian.
“One popular recipe that has been shared is for borscht, a Ukrainian soup that is red in colour because one of the ingredients is beetroot.”
Victoriia Gillies is Ukrainian and works with the Taste of Home group as a sessional community development worker.
She said: “We have a lot of Ukrainians living in North Ayrshire and it is great for them to be able to spend time with each other, share their recipes and improve their English at the same time.
“Projects like this also help Ukrainian people to integrate into the community by spending time with members of the Women’s Group at the centre – and with other Scottish people they meet.”
Olena Babenko attends the group, which is funded through the council’s community development team.
She said: “I like it because I meet new people, and I get to cook and share Ukrainian dishes.”
Recently, the New Scots women got a chance to put their feet up instead of putting aprons on when members of the Women’s Group at the centre cooked for their Ukrainian friends and made cottage pie with ginger loaf, tablet and shortbread for dessert.
Irena Kovalchuk, another New Scot who enjoys the weekly get-togethers, added: “I like to introduce Ukrainian cuisine to people in the Scottish community. And I like making new friends and meeting new people.”
A volunteer tutor is expected to start attending the weekly meet-ups in the coming weeks to help the Ukrainian cooks to improve their language skills through ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) sessions.
If you would like to find out more about the group, which stops during the school holidays, please follow ‘ESOL North Ayrshire’ on Facebook.
Alternatively, simply go along to the Argyle Community Centre in Campbell Avenue – near Caledonia Primary School – on a Tuesday after the summer break.
Councillor Alan Hill, NAC's cabinet member for communities and islands, added: “It is heartwarming to see women from different countries, with different cultural backgrounds, making friends and building relationships through their enjoyment of cooking and baking.”
If you know someone whose first language isn’t English and needs support with their English, you can complete a short referral form online at bit.ly/3ZEFrLj.
If you are interested in finding out more about volunteering opportunities across North Ayrshire to help New Scots improve their English and integrate into their community, you can fill in a form at bit.ly/411LLO9.
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