Authors – Ramya Rajaram
Key Contributors – Sumantra Ray, Sarah Armes
Acknowledgements - We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who contributed to making the Dundee Food Festival, the culminating event of UK MTK Phase 1, a resounding success.
A special note of gratitude goes to EIT Food, whose funding made the UK Mobile Teaching Kitchen Initiative (MTKi) Proof of Concepts possible. Their support has been instrumental in advancing this initiative.
Special recognition goes to the NNEdPro team, led by Prof. Sumantra Ray (PI) and Dr. Kathy Martyn (Co-PI), whose leadership and guidance were instrumental throughout the project. We are grateful to Matheus Abrantes and Sarah Armes, our project managers, for their tireless coordination and oversight. Thanks to Chef Kantesh Chowdhury, whose culinary expertise elevated the event, and to Prof. Pauline Douglas, Rauf Khalid, Sucheta Mitra, Wanja Nyaga, and Dr. Ramya Rajaram for their invaluable support and contributions.
We would also like to acknowledge the staff at Dundee & Angus College—Katie Baxter, Maja Gach, Fiona Kilcullen, Sarah Sullivan, Kichelle Williams-Robinson, and their team members—who played an essential role in the event's seamless execution.
A huge thank you to our Champions—Beth Fitzsimmons, Rebecca McCagh, Kathleen McLeod, Debbie Nelson, and Tracey Toal—for their passion and dedication to making this event a memorable experience.
Lastly, we would like to express our gratitude to the Volunteers and Ristolab, especially Dr. Sofia Cavalleri and Chef Amabile Cortiglia, for their invaluable contributions in supporting this effort.
This event would not have been possible without the collective effort, expertise, and dedication of everyone involved.
On the weekend of July 6th and 7th, Dundee Food Festival witnessed an exciting culinary showcase that brought together tradition, innovation, and community spirit. The event marked the culmination of a unique partnership between NNEdPro and Dundee and Angus College, featuring the Mobile Teaching Kitchen (MTK) UK adaptation—a project aimed at empowering local women through culinary training. The festival provided the perfect platform to highlight the skills and achievements of our Champions, a group of women from Arbroath who had participated in an intensive six-month culinary training program.
Six months ago, these committed women embarked on a series of five culinary training sessions. These sessions, carefully designed and delivered through the MTK initiative, were more than just cooking classes—they were opportunities for these women to learn, grow, and build confidence in their culinary abilities. The training covered three distinct menu templates: a traditional Indian menu, a Mediterranean Menu, and a newly adapted Scottish menu, crafted to be nutritious, flavourful, and reflective of the cultural diversity within the UK.
As these Champions honed their skills, they also prepared to take on a significant challenge: showcasing their creations to the public at a major food festival. The Dundee Food Festival, with its vibrant atmosphere and diverse audience, was the ideal venue for this grand reveal.
A Culinary Showcase at Dundee Food Festival
The MTK stall at the Dundee Food Festival was
a hive of activity throughout the weekend.
Visitors were drawn in by the enticing aromas and the promise of dishes that were not only delicious but also nutritious and affordable. Our Champions skilfully prepared and served two distinct menus: the Indian menu, which offered rich, aromatic flavours, and the Scottish menu, which highlighted local ingredients with a fresh twist.
The response from the public was overwhelmingly positive. Festival-goers were delighted by the flavourful bento boxes paired with soothing chai, many expressing surprise at how such nutritious meals could be so affordable. The interaction between our Champions, NNEdPro staff, and the public was lively and engaging, creating a buzz around the stall that persisted throughout the event.
Beyond Taste: Building Awareness and Community
While the delicious food was the highlight, the event also served as a platform to raise awareness about nutrition and the importance of healthy eating. Visitors to our stall were not only treated to flavourful dishes but were also excited to purchase our cookbooks, which feature healthy Indian recipes based on our Indian menu templates. These cookbooks offered the public an opportunity to try out nutritious, culturally inspired dishes at home, sparking significant interest and enthusiasm.
Beyond the food and cookbooks, many people were intrigued by the whole concept of the MTK and the broader work of our organisation. The festival provided an excellent opportunity to showcase the impact of the MTK initiative and engage with the community on a deeper level. Through surveys conducted at the stall, we gathered valuable insights into public nutritional awareness, helping us understand how initiatives like MTK can further impact communities. Our Champions were not just cooking, they were engaging with the public, sharing stories, and managing sales, all of which contributed to their growth and confidence. The hands-on experience of interacting with customers and handling the logistics of a busy food stall added an invaluable dimension to their training.
A Successful Step Forward
The Dundee Food Festival was more than just an event, it was a celebration of the potential within our communities when given the right opportunities and support. The success of our Champions at the festival underscores the power of the MTK initiative, not just as a culinary training program, but as a catalyst for microenterprise and community empowerment.
This weekend highlighted the meaningful impact that can be achieved through collaboration, skill development, and public engagement. As we look to the future, the MTK initiative will continue to build on this success, exploring new ways to empower individuals and transform communities through the universal language of food.
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