Food, Faith and Community: Interfaith Bridging Project

The Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA), Victoria Multifaith Society (VMS) and the South Island Dispute Resolution Centre(SIDRC) invite local faith group members to cook, experience, share and celebrate the cultural foods associated with Victoria's different faith communities. ICA, VMS and SIDRC, in partnership with local faith groups, are hosting a series of no-cost interfaith cooking classes. Each class will be followed by a shared community meal and interfaith open house celebration. The interfaith cooking classes started in January 2012. Each event is hosted by the local Sikh, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish faith communities.

Who can participate?

• Cooking class enrollment is restricted to 20 people.
• Cooking classes are open to members of local faith groups, such as Baha'i', Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Unitarian, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, First Nation's Spirituality, among others.
• The shared community meal and interfaith celebration that follows the cooking class is open to cooking class students, their family members, and members of the wider public. Space is limited, so priority will be given to faith group participants.

Is there a cost for taking the cooking class or shared meal celebration?

• There is no cost for the cooking class or the shared meal celebration
• Ingredients and instruction are provided
• Enrollment for cooking class is limited to 20 people

What is involved with taking the cooking class?

• Classes last approximately 2 hours and will involve the preparation of 2 or 3 cultural dishes, such as dahl, roti, butter curry chicken, samosas, and potato latkes.
• Participants will also learn about the cultural history of the food being prepared and learn about the history and beliefs of the host faith group.
• A recipe booklet will be produced as part of the project that may involve photos of participants and the food they have prepared.

What is the shared meal and interfaith celebration about?

• Following each cooking class, participants will come together with other faith and community group members to share the food they have created
• An interfaith celebration will be part of the shared meal, with the host faith group sharing their history and culture.
• A community dialogue activity designed to increase interfaith understanding will also be part of the event.

The first event was hosted by the Sikh Temple on Sunday, January 15th. If you are interested in signing up for the next event, a Hindu Cooking Class, on Sunday, February 12, please register early as space is limited.

Register Here

For more information, please contact Steven Lorenzo Baileys at sbaileys@icavictoria.org or 250-388-4728 ext. 116

This project is made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.