In July 2018, two Our Harbour apartment volunteers, Lyn Scott and Jody Ceccarelli, started a cooking program for the residents to teach them how to cook simple, nutritional meals. It was a time of sharing the time-old traditions of cooking together in the preparation of economical, healthy meals. The average attendance was about 6-8 members at each session. The Fednav Community Employees’ Committee supported this project with a generous donation of $1,000.
To encourage the group, Jody suggested that they have a goal: to put together a cookbook to showcase the successes in these cooking sessions and share ideas for easy, healthy, nutritional meals with the other residents. To the cooks’ amazement – and delight – they received word in February 2019 that they had been awarded a grant of $2,500 to publish their cookbook! This was the result of an initiative taken by the Assistance and Referral Centre (ARC) in association with Kevin Erskine-Henry and Executive Director, Chris Lapointe.
Jody promised this book would not be like other cookbooks. It was to comprise only recipes the group has cooked together and testimonies from the staff and residents as to what they obtained from the time spent together. It would also provide some of the nutritional background discussed in the sessions. In other words, it would reflect the value of friends spending time together, enjoying each other’s company and cooking. The book was to contain about 60 recipes, pictures of the cooking sessions and other Our Harbour activities, testimonies from the staff, volunteers and residents, and topics shared in the kitchen.
Jody has kept her promises. Some copies may still be available through the Our Harbour office at 450-671-9160. Only $10, cash or cheque. It’s a great gift that also gives to Our Harbour!
As well as being an Our Harbour community project, this cookbook also commemorates our dear friend and fellow Our Harbour cook, Jacqueline. – Jody Cecarrelli
Jody and Jacqueline in the ARC kitchen setting up for an Our Harbour cooking class