Nineteen women and two men from South Australia’s West African community participated in a project called ‘A Taste of Hospitality’ funded by Community Benefit SA during the month of October.
The program aims to enhance the cooking, catering and business skills of participants, during which they are given both theoretical and practical instruction in food preparation, hygiene, presentation as well as in basic economics and bookkeeping. The initial two parts of the program ‘Running a Successful & Safe kitchen’ and ‘Planning & Starting a Business’ were provided at the Workers Educational Association (WEA) facility in Angas Street, and MCCSA thanks the WEA for their input and assistance with these classes.
In the final part of the program, held at MCCSA, participants prepared their own traditional dishes to showcase their acquired skills. Master Chef and Proprietor of the Marrakech Restaurant, Mohamed
Bartaouch, demonstrated how the appearance of the dishes could be enhanced by professional presentation and treated attendees to a meal of succulent Moroccan food as part of his demonstration.
MCCSA Executive Officer, Vivien Hope said the aim of the program was to help participants improve their employment prospects and income producing activities, as well as to assist them when catering for community events.
The final session was attended by Shellie Jones, Board Member of Community Benefits SA, and Paula Dixon, Executive Officer of Community Benefit SA. Shellie and Paula presented all participants with a Certificate of Participation at the end of the project.