On 16th March, 2018 The Lunch Box Society of Lancaster University Ghana organised a cooking competition on the Lancaster University A&C Campus rooftop with special celebrity guests, actor John Dumelo and musician, Efya. This female-only society, which seeks to explore key issues women face, decided to hold this event centred on the archaic mentality in some societies that ‘a woman’s place is in the kitchen’.
The event titled ‘Beyond the Kitchen’ was designed to be a platform for discussion of this very issue and others that may come up during the discussion. This event was open to all, since this is a subject everyone could have an opinion on. It was held as part of the activities in honour of the ‘International Women’s Day’. The event included a cooking competition between male and female students, which happened simultaneously with the discussion on the theme, that women have the potential as well as the will power to achieve far more ‘Beyond the Kitchen’.
For the cooking competition there were two teams, consisting of nine students each, who were required to prepare a compulsory dish, Jollof rice with Chicken, with any side dishes of their choice. The panel of judges included Lunch Box Society Patron, Associate Professor Cynthia Forson, Chef Elijah, Chef Nii, Efya, Terry Afram (Managing Director of Jumia Foods) and Mr. Bernard Wilson (Food and Beverages Manager of Starbites). After the tasting of the food the females were chosen as the winners.
John Dumelo and Efya both of valuable prominence within the society, were chosen to create a balance, with an aim to avoid any possible bias. John Dumelo was to give the audience a male perspective on the topic of discussion ‘Are women really meant to be in the kitchen?’ The executives of the LunchBox Society chose Efya to speak from the female perspective, due to the fact that they admired her youthful energy, and thought the ladies could relate to more.
Gwen, the owner of Hair Senta was also present at the event and told the audience about her personal career journey, while Afia Poku of Adom FM, a mentor to the Society also spoke about the initiative she started which is called ‘SugarDem Ministries’.
The concept behind the ladies lunchbox club was that young women needed to be empowered and encouraged to challenge the status quo and go out of their comfort zones to become the best leaders they could be.
` Sponsors and Special Invited Guests included:
• Renowned Chef Elijah of the Tuo Restaurant and Grill, known for cooking for the Queen of England and his benevolent ‘Food for all Africa’, West Africa’s first food bank in Ghana. Chef Elijah played a pivotal role in making the event a success, by offering his advice, as well as providing the main cooking equipment
• Yummie Noodles, who provided five boxes of Yummie Noodles, and aprons for both teams
• Chef Nii of Nii’s Gourmet Factory, who also provided kitchen equipment and utensils for the competition
• Terry Afram, Managing Director of Jumia Foods Ghana, who provided Ghc100 discount codes for each member of the winning team and ghc50 for each member of the other team
• Mr. Bernard Wilson, the Food and Beverages Manager of Starbites, who also provided Ghc 200 Starbites vouchers for the winning team
• 21st Century & ‘in style’ Perfume; who provided perfume for both teams
• ‘Waakye on the go’, who provided hair nets for the cooking participants
Click here to view pictures from the event.
