Karen Wright: Savour all the different flavours at community meal

Karen helping prepare the Chinese meal at the community centre

In most towns up and down the country there are community centres that organise a range of activities for people to get involved with. Typically, these would be exercise classes, baby and toddler groups, crafting and sewing and much more. Wakefield is no different and recently I was asked if I could help with a session as the regular facilitator was ill.

Portobello Community Centre hosts a ‘Community Meal’ once a month as part of Wakefield's initiative Our Year 2024. The community meal can be joined in by anyone to explore the world of budget friendly cooking. Whether you are a family, a couple or solo everyone is welcome to savour the flavours of different cultures.

The class is informal, and everyone gets involved in the preparation, serving and the clearing up afterwards of a delicious ethnically diverse meal. Of course, it is also an opportunity to connect with neighbours in a warm and friendly setting and make new friends.

The group had already decided they would like to try Chinese food this month and I was blown away when a group of four people who had heard about the meal offered to step up and show us the ropes with authentic food from Hong Kong. All I had to do was go shopping for the ingredients, help set the room up and welcome everyone to the session before getting stuck in along with everyone else.

The dish was vegan stir fry with rice and a pudding of rice balls in a sweet ginger soup. Everyone including children chopped the carrot and celery sticks and then moved on to rolling the sticky rice balls. Verna, her husband and two friends very quickly had all our ingredients sizzling away in the wok and before we knew it, it was time to dish up.

The meal was a great success with plenty to go around and leftovers to take home too. I thoroughly enjoyed tasting an authentic Hong Kong dish and learning the process too, especially a pudding that I had never come across before. We all cleared the tables and washed the pots and then it was time to say goodbye, until the next session which is taking place on August 21st. The meal cost is a contribution of £2 per adult and £1 per child and places can be booked on Eventbrite.co.uk/e/799767605437