Not even the rain could keep people away from Free to Feed’s Fitzroy headquarters over the weekend.
The social enterprise which regularly hosts cooking workshops run by instructors from asylum seeking and refugee backgrounds, collaborated with Melbourne-based Greek and Cypriot collective Parea to host a night of traditional recipes, songs and the good old Greek filotimo.
The event was a match made in heaven, given that both groups share a kindred ethos; a yearning for community and belonging.
“Parea are a beautiful Greek and Cypriot collective, who celebrate their traditions, identities and shared roots through community based events. Their events are authentic representations of who they are, drawing from their own stories and memories of home, inviting others to join in and learn more about their culture too,” the Free to Feed team told The Greek Herald.
“The core of Free to Feed is very much the same. We see ourselves as a tapestry of sorts, woven by the incredible people we work with. Over the years, over 40 different cultures have been celebrated in our kitchens, dancing their way into the heart of Melbourne.”
The event, part of Free to Feed’s winter series, kicked off with two yemista cooking workshops run by Parea member Marthea and her mother Lena Stamatopoulos.
Marthea is not about “gatekeeping” precious family recipes, and instead ensured, along with her mum, that everyone got to truly get a taste of what it’s like to be in yiayia’s kitchen on a Saturday afternoon. Guests chopped, scooped and stuffed vegetables before letting the oven work its magic.
As Parea’s Alexia Keskerides runs about making sure the day is running smoothly, they take a moment to tell us why events like these are so special to them.
“I think it’s a really beautiful thing, when you see people from all different cultures coming together and connecting over food, learning about ways that people do things in different parts of the world,” Alexia said.
“It gives us the opportunity to see the way that food and culture kind of transforms with immigration and movement and the diaspora. It’s really nice to connect somewhere like the Free to Feed space because a lot of the people that are here today aren’t necessarily people that we’ve met before. And so I think that’s a really beautiful thing to open up our culture to, and our community to people that come from other communities and cultures.”
As the smell of yiayia’s yemista filled the room, guests were treated to content creator Kat Zam’s Greek Diaspora Series projected on the wall and an appearance from the social media star herself.
In the spirit of really turning it into a glenti to remember, the Meli Trio gave an enchanting rebetika performance before the Parea DJs took over to keep guests dancing the yemista off.
“Free to Feed is a non-profit social enterprise fostering social connection for people of refugee backgrounds and the Melbourne/Naarm community. We do this by celebrating diverse cultures through shared food experiences in safe and inclusive spaces. Bringing people together for beautiful exchanges of stories, cultural knowledge and personal hopes and ideas,” the Free to Feed team said.
“The space was filled with that warm and familiar spontaneity reminiscent of family gatherings, where the crowd erupted in dancing, linking arms as they made their way across the room.”
*All photos copyright The Greek Herald / Marianna Alepidis.
