Free to Feed

Meet Aziza and take a journey into her Eritrean heritage 🫶🏼 Raised in Saudi Arabia, Aziza’s Eritrean heritage was felt in everything she did. A culture of celebration and togetherness, Aziza was brought up in the warm embrace of Eritrean community, listening to tales of her people, and learning the ropes of cooking from her mum. It was her mother who taught her the magic of food, inviting people over often to share in the flavours. “We share our food and our happiness” she says. It’s the Eritrean way. From her out of this world fluffy and slightly sweet Himbasha dough to her Sambusa with cheese and dill fried to crispy perfection, you'll be transported straight to Aziza's home. To take part in Aziza's Eritrean cooking experience, head to the link below ✨️ https://lnkd.in/gABH7tcd

Experience crunchy, saucy, sweet & salty flavours and texture, all wrapped up in Daniel's Patacones with cabbage slaw ✨️ This deep fried til golden base is made up of tropical smashed plantain and topped with a fresh veggie slaw, that'll leave you wanting more! To taste the crunch and many more mouth-watering dishes, book a Venezuelan cooking experience with Daniel using the link below! ❤️ https://lnkd.in/gWNnpk6Z

We are so excited that Shayama's incredible cooking is no longer limited to our catering kitchen, but can now be experienced by all in our Northcote home too 🫶🏼 Wrapped up in warm spices, this reel only gives you a glimpse into the magical, delicious world of Shayama's Sri Lankan menu ✨️ Cooking isn’t just a job or a hobby for Shayama. “It’s my passion,” she says. When she cooks with others, she is recreating and sharing her sense of home. And feeding people, bringing them together to enjoy the flavours and spices of the place she remembers so fondly, in turn, feeds her soul. “I’m cooking because I want to make people happy,” she says. “And that makes me happy as well.” If like us, your mouths are already watering, and your bellies grumbling, book a Sri Lankan cooking experience with Shayama using the link below❤️ https://lnkd.in/gm4D_6DB

Straight from the heart of Kanwal's Pakistan, with a traditional vegetarian twist, comes her brand new cooking experience menu 🩷 From classic and comforting Daal to crispy mouth-watering Pakora (bite-sized vegetable fritters), this menu is sure to please everyone. As Kanwal says, “I cook from my heart. It’s to do with family and love, and how you connect and bring people together. A shared meal is always a uniting factor.” Don't miss out on Kanwal's new vegetarian menu - book via the link below ✨️ https://lnkd.in/gR4_N--z

As Oksana says, “food, for me, is this magical language – this history, this culture.” ✨️ Oksana believes her family can taste the way she feels in the final dish she puts on the table. “If I’m happy, I put a little bit more, the food is nice and colourful. Sometimes I’m sad and my family tastes my food and say, ‘maybe you’re not happy today’.” Oksana's way with cooking always comes from the heart. Her warm menu invites guests to take a chance at putting their all into the dishes, and feel the passion she feels when working in the kitchen. To take part in Oksana's magical Ukrainian cooking experience, head to the link below 🩷 📸 Photo by the wonderful Suzee @_soo_zee one of our current Content Marketing Interns! https://lnkd.in/guzADqWw

This bowl of creamy, avocado-y deliciousness is taken straight from Daniel's Venezuelan menu. Served with fried (Yuca Frita) cassava chips, you too will be screaming GUASACACA! To enjoy this delicious dip yourself, head to the link below and book into one of Daniel's Venezuelan Cooking Experiences ✨️ https://lnkd.in/gWNnpk6Z

Rana's words truly leave a mark ❤️ Home is so many things, to so many people. It is a place, a feeling, a flavour, a familiar face. Now imagine if you had to leave your home, what would you do? This snippet is taken from Ghorbeh, our first ever event in The Story Table series. It was an evening of beautiful food and beautiful conversation on home, both losing and seeking it. Thank you to our incredible story sharers on the night, Bahaa, Rana and Tayebeh, for teaching us, inspiring us and encouraging us to reflect xo

Get ready to party like a Venezuelan as we introduce Daniel, our newest cooking instructor 🥳 Daniel hails from Caracas, the vibrant capital of Venezuela, nestled between the mountains and the Caribbean Sea, where seeking joy and laughter is a key part of the culture. “In my country, even in tough situations, we always look for the good,” Daniel says. “My people are so friendly. That’s the best part.” Finding comfort in the kitchen, Daniel believes that sharing a meal always grows the deepest connections. In his new Venezuelan cooking experiences, he hopes to share a taste of his home but most importantly, he wants his guests to have a great time too. “Any excuse for a party!” From fried, golden and crispy Patacones (plantain chips) to sweet and salty guava and halloumi Tequeños, even your tastebuds will be dancing! Book using the link below ✨️ https://lnkd.in/gWNnpk6Z

Here’s a little glimpse into the world of Recipe Development at Free to Feed, featuring Oksana using google translate to tell us about her dumplings ✨️ It is no small feat, to go from cooking for a family or community to teaching a group of 14 strangers your sacred recipes, in a language that isn’t your own. And so, over the course of a few months, our cooking instructors in training work closely with our Recipe Developers, helping them tap into their personal archives, generationally shared and whispered, yet rarely written down. This intimate process involves a lot of googling, translating stories behind traditions, as well as looking up ingredients, and more often than not, embarking on a wild goose chase to find the exact same spices here. Yet together, our instructors and Recipe Developers always manage to find ways to translate these memories, stories and flavours, into the heartfelt menus you find in our community cooking experiences. It is an honour to be part of these journeys.

12 month Leadership, Empowerment + Communications program ✨️⁠ ⁠ Our LEC program is the bread and butter of what we do at Free to Feed, championing those from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds to express their talent and wisdom as cooking instructors in our popular community cooking experiences. From 3 months of paid training, exploring recipe development, leadership skills and storytelling, plus a further 9 months of employment as a cooking instructor with us, this program invites those who love cooking to share their memories, culture and dishes to the wider community.⁠ ⁠ If this sounds like you or someone you know, please send your name, mobile, email, home address, visa type, Cultural background and experience with cooking (3 to 5 sentences), and journey (asylum seeker, refugee or forced displacement prior to coming to Australia) to programs@freeto.org ✨ ⁠ Applications close 18th October 2024 ❤️