Five HSRW students who want to speak better German cook together with five people from the region who want to improve their English. The idea behind it: Cooking together brings people together. “Where can you have a more relaxed conversation than standing together at the stove, chopping, tasting and then enjoying each other’s company?” says Florian Gaisrucker from our team, who helped organize the cooking workshops. “The Cook & Talk evenings playfully integrated language practice and intercultural exchange.” One participant summed it up like this:
“It wasn’t just about cooking – the evenings were really good because of the conversations and the togetherness.”
The delicious food ensured that everyone’s stomachs were well filled. Each cooking evening had a special theme. St. Martin’s Day with Weckmann and pumpkin soup in November, Christmas cookie baking in December, culinary lucky charms from around the world in January.
The culinary language tandems enabled young and old and people of different nationalities to meet at eye level. The desire to continue Cook & Talk has already been expressed several times. “It would be great if the project could be continued at the VHS in Kamp-Lintfort or perhaps with another cooperation partner in Kleve,” reflects Florian. “Because it stands for the successful implementation of intergenerational exchange and social participation.” This was also evident in gestures like these: Participants who came by car made sure that the students who had traveled by public transport got home safely afterwards.