Cook to Connect: ‘The way to meet people’

As a newcomer to the Netherlands, leaving your belongings behind is by no means easy. Everything is unfamiliar: country, study, people and customs. Think of it as an international student. Meeting event Cook to Connect offered a solution on Wednesday evening.

At least for Catalina from Romania. The second-year communication student loves cooking and sees this event as an ideal opportunity to meet other students. ‘I find that quite little is organised from Fontys Communication. But this is fun and I immediately signed up when I saw it,’ she remains positive. Together with Romy and Karlijn, both doing the minor in Spanish, she prepares bruchette with tomatoes. Romy: ‘We neatly follow the recipe in front of us,’ she says as she sprinkles some more salt and pepper over the dish.

Coming together: that is exactly what the event is for, says Susanne van den Wildenberg, who organises the initiative together with Marilyn Bailey. Cook to Connect, she says, is about social connection through cooking and eating together. But also about developing so-called life skills, such as learning to cook nutritiously and responsibly on a limited budget and creating curiosity about other food cultures.

Cultural differences
There is no shortage of cultural differences this Wednesday evening: students from Bulgaria, Mexico, Romania, France, Turkey and Ukraine are participating, as well as a handful of Dutch people. The recipes, prepared by teacher trainer and amateur chef Steef Schapers, also have an international flavour. Among other things, attendees prepare caprese, bagna cauda and börek with spinach and feta. ‘We cook without pressure. No Gordon Ramsey scenes here, it has to remain fun,’ he knows.

That happens organically in caterer Appèl's kitchen in R11, where students swarm around. Chopping, slicing, creating and - of course - deliberating. Teaching/research assistant Yelda from Turkey cooks with Romanian Valerian. The pair carve pumpkins and shallots. ‘Cooking is the way to meet people, it shows,’ she says as she looks around the kitchen.

Tastes like more
After a good hour of cooking, the students transfer their culinary masterpieces to Cafe040. There they nibble on the food, chat and enjoy a drink. Music from an old-fashioned Hitzone CD blares from the speakers. And when Van den Wildenberg en public raises his glass and asks who wants to take on the organisation next time, countless arms go up in the air. Cook to connect: that tastes like more.

Read the article on BRON.

Willem Brouwer, 17 oktober 2024