Loving food and loving others thanks to Miranda Salvos cooking classes

Rob and Carolyn love being part of the Miranda cooking class.

About a year ago, the team at Shire Salvos Miranda started a fortnightly cooking class focused on low-cost recipes. The classes were for community members who received a weekly food hamper.

Shire Salvos Miranda Community Coordinator Moira Guthrie said the classes had been a major success in more ways than one – the group has developed into a beautiful community of people who love and care for each other and go ‘on a mission’ together.

“The cooking classes began to meet a need,” Moira said.

“A lot of our community members have never been taught fundamental cooking skills, and we thought what a great way to show them how to cook dishes from the ingredients found in their weekly food hampers.”

But God knew that the need was far greater than skills in the kitchen. The group, many of them who didn’t know each other well, began to stay longer, chatting around the communal table that is used during the cooking class.

“We have a group of regulars that come to our fortnightly cooking class and have formed friendships where some catch up outside the classes,” Moira said. “The feedback was that they found it uplifting to come along and make friends.”

One such couple are Carolyn and Rob Craig. They began to attend Shire Salvos Miranda earlier this year when Rob’s dad told them about the food hamper support. They heard about the cooking classes and thought they would give it a go.

“We decided to come along to the cooking class, and we haven’t stopped! We have met a few of the other lovely ladies and gentlemen who enjoy the cooking class as well,” Rob said. “We all have a chat and a laugh and lunch together! It’s really lovely knowing that we have other people that we can share our stories with and if someone’s having a bad day, they know that we are there for each other.”

Carolyn agrees. She says she doesn’t get out much, so the fortnightly Monday cooking class – and the support and friendship of the group – is a highlight.

“Everyone is so caring, loving [and] there if you need their help, you know? And willing to talk to you … it’s just nice when you’re there for each other.”

As the group got to know each other better and became more of a friendship and support group, their love and care for each other organically spread further.

Rob had an idea – why not offer to cook for the Shire Salvos Miranda ‘Soul Food’ faith community, which meets on Thursday nights for a meal and laidback-style church? 

Many of those who attended the cooking class also called ‘Soul Food’ their church, so they approached Shire Salvos Miranda Mission Leader Lieut-Colonel David Godkin, with the idea.

David was thrilled! The group’s shepherd’s pie was a big hit, and there are plans to have the group cook regularly for Soul Food.

Rob returns ‘home’

These days, when Rob Craig walks into Miranda Salvos, he has a huge grin on his face. It’s a place where he is known and valued. He says it feels like family.

And it’s a ‘full circle’ moment for Rob, who became connected to nearby Rockdale Corps when he was a teen, only to slip away after a few years “when the going got tough”.

“I initially started with The Salvation Army when I was 11,” he recalls. “We had some officers from Rockdale Corps in our street around Christmas time, and they were just telling people about The Salvation Army.

“I’m the eldest of five in my family; at that stage, we only had one income coming into the house, so it was a bit of a difficult time for the family.”

Rob began attending the Boys’ Legion and worked his way through the years to become a leader. He loved the sense of belonging that The Salvation Army offered him.

“At that age, it felt like I had a purpose; I belonged somewhere. I was very much a loner. It was very hard for me to make friends. Being short in high school, I was always bullied.

“It was very warming to know that I was part of something and that I was doing something good. Not only was I involved just with Boys Legion and things like that, but when Red Shield Appeal came along, I would go out on the streets and help with that.”

However, when a close friend stopped attending and other issues came up, Rob decided to walk away. But he’s always known that God has been with him. Like the ‘prodigal son’, his return to a faith community has been met with open arms. 

Carolyn peeling potatoes for the Soul Food meal.

“To have that moral support here and to know that there’s people here that have ‘got your back’, that’s really what The Salvation Army is about. Not only do they try and help you in other ways, but if you need someone to talk to, there’s always someone within the corps group or they know someone that can sit down and have an ear or a shoulder.

“And it’s always warming; it’s always a warm welcome here.”

The ‘Jesus culture’ at Shire Salvos Miranda invites those who attend to extend that welcome to others, and Rob can often be seen coming alongside men who attend the centre and who are experiencing difficulties.

He says Shire Salvos Miranda, Soul Food, and especially the fortnightly cooking class are all his ‘church’ because “church is where you make it.”

- Article written by Lauren Martin