Registered as an official event with the Nelson Mandela Foundation
The aim was to create 670 meals in 67 minutesfor local communities and charities. The event took place at Our Big Kitchen (obk.org.au), a community kitchen facility in Bondi, Sydney.
Registered as an official event with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Mandela's Day Kitchen drew high-level guests such as Senator Matt Thistlethwaite (on behalf of Prime Minister Julia Gillard) and Victor Dominello, New South Wales member of the legislative assembly and minister of citizenship, communities and aboriginal affairs, all three of whom played African drums to kick off and conclude the 67 minutes.
Food, glorious food
The founder of Our Big Kitchen, Rabbi Dovid Slavin, says, "Food touches everyone on some level. [Our Big Kitchen] turns raw food into cooked food and we add a dollop of love, community building and tangible compassion."
The creators of Mandela's Day Kitchen, Alison Gregg and Cheryl Adamson, say: "Australians are -passionate about food and cooking, and the response to this call to action for Mandela's Day Kitchen has been overwhelming. [Today] forms part of a long-term commitment to create a global cooking community for Mandela, with positive discussions already underway with the likes of Brand South Africa, the Australian Culinary Federation and the South African Chefs Association."
Over the next year more phases of Mandela's Day Kitchen will roll out across the globe, Adamson says.
"The objective is to create a hands-on interconnected culinary online community, via viral marketing and social media networks, providing a platform for master chefs and humble home cooks to connect around a likeminded passion for sharing food," she says.
"Mandela has said that the future is in our hands," says Gregg. "We hope that Mandela's Day Kitchen inspires people all around the world to believe that through our own actions, we can help change the world, one meal at a time."
Source: Mandela's Day Kitchen facebook.com/MandelasDayKitchen