“Sharing food is at the heart of the community”

Food has the power to feed, nourish and unite. Ramona Andrews reports from Bristol, where she talks to women at a lunch held by 91 Ways, an organisation that’s bringing together people from around the world with sometimes life-changing results

REPORTAGE PHOTOGRAPHS JOSEPH TURP RECIPES ELLA SHAH/SHIV SAMA, SUSAN ARAFEH, NEGAT HUSSEIN, AZZA MUSTAFA FOOD PHOTOGRAPHS MAJA SMEND FOOD STYLING LUCY O’REILLY STYLING LYDIA BRUN

I’ve just arrived at a lunch hosted by the Bristol Hindu Temple and the kitchen is a flurry of activity. A team of cooks, some from the temple, some volunteers, are peeling potatoes, chopping cauliflower and rolling out dough. The spicy aromas of the cooking waft into the community hall where rows of tables are being laid. On the tables are cards asking guests to share details about their backgrounds and their food memories.

The lunch is organised by 91 Ways To Build A Global City (see p52). Its name might be a bit of a mouthful, but the premise is simple: bring people of different backgrounds together to share food and to build bridges between communities that would otherwise not have met.

As 91 Ways founder Kalpna Woolf puts it, “Food is a calling card. It doesn’t have an agenda. When people share food, they’re happy to talk about their heritage, and their likes and dislikes around that. It opens a door.”

The hall has a lively, party atmosphere, filled with the chattering voices of guests, including those from local charity Refugee Women of Bristol. The women are being swamped by schoolchildren, who’ve also been invited along for an unusually tasty food education.

“Food is a calling card. It doesn’t have an agenda. When people share food, they’re happy to talk about their heritage, likes and dislikes. It opens a door”

The 91 Ways name comes from the number of languages known to be spoken in Bristol. Kalpna set up the organisation in 2015, aided by funding from Europe (Bristol was European Green Capital last year) with the aim of connecting as many of the different language communities in the city as possible.