"It's an honour for me and my team to cook for you"

​Read about the day Mo and his team served his famous Ash Reshteh – Persian noodle soup for over 60 guests at a special celebration lunch at Sunnyside Rural Trust, and hear his heart-warming speech!
 
We are delighted to tell you about the Inclusive Employment Project Celebration organised by Step2Skills and hosted by Sunnyside Rural Trust.
 
Sunnyside invited our Iranian asylum-seeker chefs Mohammed, Sara, Arman and Asiyeh to make a dish for 60 people.  They chose Ash Reshteh, or Persian noodle soup.
 
Our cookery project organiser Helen has been organising everything behind the scenes, going to specialist shops for ingredients and liaising with Sunnyside and the chefs to decide what they were going to cook, agree the budget, and talk about food labelling requirements & intolerances.
Prior to the event there was a trial run where the food was cooked for sale in the cafe.  Then there was the whole day event: shopping the day before, then starting at 8am in the morning.
You can see an account of the day in this slideshow of whatsapp messages below!

Here are some extracts from Mo’s speech which you can watch in full here:
“It's an honour for me and my team to cook for you, and we hope the flavours are delightful and pleasing to your palate….
I'm delighted to talk to you about the rich diversity in Iranian cuisine, a tradition that dates back thousands of years…
Given Iran's historical role as a crossroads for trade and travel, our people have always aimed to create dishes that welcome visitors from various cultures…
I want to express my gratitude to all of you for allowing us to share our food with you.
I appreciate the warm reception you've given us. I believe in giving back, and I hope to participate in charitable endeavours to reciprocate the kindness you've shown us.”

And what lovely feedback:
Helen:  "Despite all the hard work it is great to be part of a project which is so rewarding."
Farida, Head of Community and Well-being Services at Sunnyside: "Thanks again Helen for all your hard work & support to make today possible - it’s so appreciated by us all at Sunnyside!"
The chefs: "I'm glad that today was a good day for everyone and thank you for introducing us to Sunnyside" - "I am so  glad that you and other guests enjoyed the food. I hope to be a useful person for the English community🌹🌹"
 
Thank you Mo, we are all so proud of you and your team!  Thank you to everyone involved in this wonderful project. ​