The flame under Marie Wilson's lifelong dream of creating a cooking club and social connections within the community flickered out in March when her fledgling Ballarat Cook Club was forced to close due to coronavirus restrictions.
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Having left her job as a TAFE cooking teacher to throw herself in to the cook club on January 31, she was booked solid for private and community cooking classes during February and March when business suddenly ground to a halt on March 22.
After a period of offering takeaway meals from her Delacombe business, Ms Wilson has taken her cooking community online to offer workshops, classes and birthday parties via Zoom using supplied ingredients.
Now, participants in her classes pick up a box of ingredients and recipe card from Ballarat Cook Club the day before their cooking class, then join in to cook at home.
"I send out a survey to get an idea of what equipment everyone has. When that comes back to me I can choose what we are going to do by what everyone has at home. I pick a recipe or two, weigh and measure all the ingredients, pack it in the box for them to pick up the day before ... then we connect on Zoom at the right time.
"It's not really that much different to when I was doing them here. If there's a spell where we might have something baking and there's nothing to do, we go and make a cuppa and have a chat."
The idea behind Ballarat Cook Club was as much about the social side of cooking and creating connections than the final culinary creation.
"I had always wanted to become a cooking teacher, which I did through TAFE but I really don't like assessing people. I like the social side of cooking and had this thought for a long time to build a club where people can come and cook socially, and if they don't do it quite right it doesn't matter as long as they enjoy themselves."
Ms Wilson had been running community programs, classes for disabled children, people with special needs as well as one on one classes, group classes and a Sunday session each week.
She has recently run programs through the Salvation Army including one for mothers and toddlers in which she had six "learning platforms" made for the children so they could join their mums at bench height and help in the kitchen.
"It also built social connections for the mums, was fun and taught activities they could do together. They talked about the challenges they have with feeding kids and brainstormed solutions - everyone came together and got as much out of it as I did," she said.
In recent years I have had vision to create a cooking club that has a focus on friendships and a relaxed learning environment. I am excited to say that it is finally happening. Ballarat Cook Club is no longer a dream it is now a reality.
- Marie Wilson
It was the organisers of the community program she had been running who approached to ask if she would consider doing online cooking classes.
"I was very interested because this (doing the takeaways) wasn't bringing me the joy I wanted for the club and the career I stepped away from," she said.
After a trial class with some girlfriends, she decided the concept would work and forged ahead.
"It was brilliant and it was a lot of fun. As soon as you are back at something you love you feel you are in the right spot straight away," she said.
Now she also sees opportunities in hosting virtual birthday parties for children during isolation, where guests could bake cookies or cakes and catch up online, as well as regular classes.
And she is considering keeping the online activity going even after isolation is over.
"This is an avenue I wouldn't have thought to explore, but it might be something we can offer in the future as well."
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