• Footscray, Yarraville, Braybrook Star

By Charlene Gatt

14th July 2009 11:05:40 AM

Tasty treats ... Nyibol, 19, Thulei, 25, and Nyakier, 18, take part in the

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MOVE over Masterchef – these budding cooks are heating things up in the kitchen.

Nyibol, Thulei and Nyakier put their culinary skills to the test last week in an intensive week-long Kitchen Culture course.

The Kitchen Culture program is run by the Braybrook Youth Enterprise Hub and VicHealth as part of the Building Bridges initiative to break down racial discrimination.

More than 80 youths aged between 13 and 25 from Melbourne’s West take part in the course each year.

Co-facilitator Marcus Wiseman, who has worked as a chef, takes the classes.

Fellow co-facilitator May Toke said the program was about getting young people from different nationalities and cultures together to work towards a common goal.

“Most people love to cook, love to eat, so we get young people to come to the training and they cook together and then eat together. In doing that they’re making friends, and they’re also learning about each other’s cultures.”

Ms Toke said the students received coffee training, food handling and Occupational Health and Safety accreditation modules from Victoria University as part of the course.

The multicultural experiment extends to the menu, with rice paper rolls, lasagne, vegetable curry and a range of desserts carefully prepared by the students.

The after-school program usually runs three hours a week for up to eight weeks, but week-long programs are also held over the school holidays. For more information call Melbourne Citymission’s Kitchen Culture team on 8311 5400.

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