by Gabriella Vukman
From parmas to pot roasts, the Hills’ very own Mountain Men group is hosting free cooking classes for the fellows of the community.
Having commenced on July 30, this four week cooking program is a pilot that is scheduled to conclude on August 27.
President of the Upwey Men’s Shed Roger who was also a participant in last Tuesday’s cooking class said cooking is a life skill.
“It’s part of learning the basics of life and we all come from different circumstances and wanted to be there to learn about cooking,” he said.
“The class was brilliant, we were taken through the theory behind cooking and we learnt each recipe step by step.”
Mr Roger was proud of his chefing-skills, he made parma and sticky date pudding.
Tecoma resident and board member of the Mountain Men community organisation Chuck said they are hoping to hear back from participants to improve the program.
“It’s a pilot program, hopefully we get lots of feedback from the men who are participating, and then use that feedback to direct where we spend our time and energy in the future,” Chuck said.
“The guys we’ve had participating so far have been fully on board with getting right into it.”
“It is run by our facilitator Jan Buhrman. She’s been a driving force behind the day-to-day operations and she runs the classes. She knows exactly how to design a course and how to talk to adult learners on their level. It’s been really positive to see her interactions with the men.”
Backed by the Yarra Ranges Council along with other partners, the cooking class program teaches men of all ages how to cook mains, side dishes and desserts.
“For the first week we made some Aussie classics such as lamb loin chops and a chicken parma and then the week after we made fresh pasta bolognese and some sides to go with it,” Chuck said.
“Each week we’ve done a dessert and supporting dishes, these men are now having an understanding of not only some of the basics of cooking one-singular meal, but also the supporting pieces that make for a complete meal, and hopefully they’ll be able to use for themselves and to attend to their families in the future.”
“I’ve enjoyed imagining these fellas going home and telling their families or partners “hey, don’t worry about dinner on Sunday, I’m going to take care of it,” and then whipping up an entire Sunday meal.”
Next week, a classic Sunday roast is on the menu with the choice of chicken or pork.
Whilst the program was originally targeted towards men from older generations, it is now open and aimed at helping men from all walks of life learn how to cook for themselves and their families.
“The idea for a cooking program was expressed to me by someone in the community and I thought it was a great idea to jump on board with and make it happen,” Chuck said.
“We saw members of our community impacted by either the loss of a loved one and all of a sudden they’re paying bills and cooking food and doing things that they hadn’t done before because maybe the partner had taken care of them previously.”
“Yarra ranges council graciously came to the table and suggested we not only look for the fellas that fit the age demographic, but also those who have been impacted by the storms.”
Much of the program’s design process went through the Upwey and Belgrave men’s sheds.
The Tuesday Cooking classes are held at the Foothills Community Care which is at the rear of Upwey Baptist Community Church.
“Upwey Baptist Community Church is also one of our partners and they are providing the space at a very reasonable rate, as well as the foothills community care who are providing some of the ingredients – it’s been really beneficial to have all of these parties involved,” Chuck said,
“It’s a really great program in terms of bringing all of these different areas and organisations together.”
“We’re hoping this program will be something that goes off successfully and we’re able to continue doing in the future with more men.”
The Mountain Men are encouraging all men to come along and be immersed in the program.
“We are definitely still accepting fellas that want to come in and be a part of one or both of those last two classes,” Chuck said.
