Learning a new skill is difficult at the best of times, finding a friend to learn with can be even harder – especially if you’re 60. Men’s Kitchen is taking these issues and cooking two birds on one stove by teaching older men how to prepare delicious meals in a social setting.
The not-for-profit organisation has multiple kitchens around Sydney, including one in Seaforth, Warriewood and another in Forestville. Manly Observer was invited to attend a session at Forestville this month, hosted by volunteer chefs/instructors Julia and Gillian.
“The purpose of Men’s Kitchen is to give men a place where they can socialise, but also teach them skills of being able to cook a meal for when family comes over,” Julia explained.
“They build rapport with other people and have a laugh and a giggle. And, you know, sometimes we burn things. It’s not a drama, nothing’s ever a drama. It’s just a lot of fun.”
Many of the men who join the classes live alone or simply haven’t had much cooking experience throughout their lives. The classes can have up to ten men and three instructors, teaching valuable skills in a calm yet enjoyable environment.
“There are a lot of men around who kind of need a bit more help cooking,” Gillian added.
“Sometimes they haven’t been allowed in the kitchen, or maybe they’re single, and so it’s only them in the kitchen. Sometimes wives go, you know what, I’ve cooked for 50 years, it’s your turn buckaroo!
“So then they step in, and they’re quite interested in learning the skills. Some of them have never really read recipes before, so they’re learning how to do that, and all the micro-skills that are involved when you’re cooking something.”
Classes begin with a debrief of the recipe, chosen the week prior, which is normally a main and a dessert. On the menu this week was a double down of pastry-encased goodness, a chicken leek and mushroom pie to be followed by a lemon meringue pie.
Due to some absences, there were four men in attendance. Barry and Robert were paired together to tackle the meringue, while Lin and Paul cooked up the chicken pie.
Robert lives by himself and enjoys coming to socialise. Barry’s wife passed away years ago, and he lives on his own. It was his daughter who convinced him to take up the class, and it’s now his second week in attendance.
“My daughter talked me into it, to get me out of the house and get around. It’s good because I prepare similar things for myself all the time. So I’d like to make it a little better and have variety,” Barry explained.
“Like a lot of the guys here, I live by myself. So you get into a rut, and this helps you get out of the rut.”
“It’s about meeting the other guys and getting some cooking tips,” Barry’s partner in culinary, Robert added.
“Like a lot of the guys here, I live by myself. So you get into a rut, and this helps you get out of the rut.”
The pair got stuck into their work quite quickly after the briefing, preparing the lemon meringue pie under the watchful eye of their instructor Julia. Robert – who, like a third of the group, has his name embroidered on his apron – was a bit more battle-hardened when it came to the class and didn’t have too much trouble following the steps of the recipe.
Barry had just received his bare apron that day and spent the class pottering around, awaiting further instruction, simultaneously providing some happy vibes for the kitchen as he visited each workstation for a drop-in chat.
In the end, a fabulous lemon meringue pie was created and enjoyed by all with a side of the group’s unilateral love of ice cream.
On the other side of the kitchen, Lin and Paul, who have been with the class for the better part of a year, were working symbiotically side by side, splitting the delegated ingredients for the recipe to craft their chicken leek and mushroom pies. Gillian was ever present to guide the two in the right direction on some of the trickier steps.
“I did the ‘bought a barbecue chicken’, and I cut it up into small pieces and cut all the skin off and then I did the mashed potatoes, and then Paul did the bechamel sauce,” Lin said, gesturing to Paul.
“Yes, I did the bechamel sauce and the leeks and the mushrooms,” Paul chimed in.
Lin is a retired detective while Paul was a TAFE teacher for accounting and finance for many years. They were the perfect odd couple that got on like a house on fire. When asked if there was a Venn diagram for skill sets between the kitchen and their retired occupations, the pair laughed and shot down the idea, but said they would share if they came across any.
Plated up shortly after the conversation was the pair’s chicken leek and mushroom pie, which tasted as good as it smelt. Although they weren’t completely satisfied with how the pastry was folded, they were reassured that a strong characteristic of an Aussie pie is its rough imperfections.
Once the group had sat down and enjoyed their meal, discussing various topics in between, such as the usefulness of air tags and Find My iPhone, it was time to choose the meal for next week.
Men’s Kitchen offers 100 recipes from Australia or around the globe, curated and photographed by cooking professional Chris Chandler. Barry had a craving for Chinese food, and, fortunately for him, so did the rest of the group, and the menu catered exactly for that. The blokes picked their Chinese dishes for the next round and organised to meet for a coffee after. For organisers, that was probably the pièce de résistance.
You can learn more about Men’s Kitchen here.
