By Ewen McRae
Food was the common language at Sunshine’s Visy Cares Hub when 2017 MasterChef champion Diana Chan stopped by to cook up a storm.
As part of the Jesuit Social Services’ Gather and Grow program, which helps new arrivals expand their cooking skills while also improving their English, Ms Chan last week led a class of more than 20 in a morning of dumpling making.
“It’s been such a good experience to be able to meet different people and run a class like this, it’s been a lot of fun,” Ms Chan said. “There’s probably 10 different languages happening in the kitchen … but food brings people together.”
Ms Chan has been busy since winning her
MasterChef crown, spending time in Malaysia, launching a Melbourne restaurant, Chanteen, selling her own brand of dumplings in supermarkets and developing her own cooking show.
Jesuit Social Services settlement support worker Nicole Attard said Gather and Grow played an important role for the participants.
“The aim is to learn a new set of skills as well as the English language side of thing,”
Ms Attard said.
“We often find sitting in a classroom is pretty limiting.
“But when you’re having to interact, it really helps to develop some new relationships.
“It’s a real melting pot of cultures and everyone who participates really has a lot of fun, so that’s fantastic.”
