Homeland Community Days - ‘for everyone, from everywhere’

Since opening in November, three hugely successful Community Days have taken place at Peter Gordon and Alastair Carruther’s new food embassy, Homeland. Communities from Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae, the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation's ‘Just Cook 4 Health Ageing’ programme and the Asylum Seekers Support Trust (ASST) have all thoroughly enjoyed cooking and sharing delicious food together under Peter’s calm direction and tutelage.

Peter and Alastair share that “Learning from the diverse groups, who have made Aotearoa home, and helping community groups who could benefit from a cook school session, is what these Community Days are all about. They are manaakitanga, for everyone, from everywhere.”

On arrival at Community Day, participants are welcomed and settle in with a hot drink and homemade baking. Alastair then covers off the necessary health and safety briefing and then it’s straight into the wonderful experience of working together to create a meal to share. Peter demonstrates each step of the recipe, while chatting about the story behind many of the ingredients and reflecting on personal narratives that create a warm, inclusive connection.

Each cooking station is superbly equipped and the delicious meals that have so far been cooked and shared include: Meat pie with cheesy kumara top served alongside spicy buttery sweetcorn; Beef and baked bean meatloaf and Herby spiced marinated lamb (or chicken) with potatoes, broccolini, and roast stuffed capsicum. Each meal is always finished off with some sweet dessert – the members from the ASST community had a real treat and got to enjoy Peter’s Mum’s Pavlova recipe (see picture below).

Sarah Hanrahan, CEO of the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation said of the experience of bringing her ‘Just Cook’ older adults along to the Community Day “Our older people loved the experience of cooking together and with Peter at Homeland. Not only did they have the opportunity to learn new skills, try some new foods and be inspired, they also had a very fun and enjoyable day with a delicious lunch and good company”.

If your community would like to spend a day at Homeland head to their website to find our more.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand are proud to support Homeland Community Days.