Food Heritage is not just about the food but also about the materials and utensils used

Food heritage is not just about the food but also the utensils and materials used. Join us as we explore the artistic expressions of food heritage materials and culture.

Feminism in the Kitchen is an intergenerational dialogue in celebration of the Women's Rights Week in Brussels. The event will be held at GC Nekkersdal in Brussels from 6 to 9pm; with networking drinks after the event.

The goal of this event is to use food and cuisine to explore perceptions of feminism among African diaspora women. We will have an intergenerational discussion with women from different diasporic communities, to explore their perceptions of feminism, its meaning and the difference in perception in their countries of origin and in their communities in Belgium.
We also want to understand how tradition dictates the role and image of women in diasporic communities, with regards to their
culinary skills and how that correlates with gender roles and the validation of women.

With many women from African diaspora communities coming from countries where the kitchen is
considered a women's space or place, the main points the dialoguenwill focus on ickude -

• Given the importance of the kitchen in African homes, does African kitchens have a place for
  feminists.
• Does a woman’s role in the kitchen determine whether or not she is a feminist?
• In many African traditional communities, women who are independent or have used their culinary
  skills to exert some influence over their husbands and other men in their lives, are not seen as
  positive influences. So how do women navigate what seems like paradoxical culinary
  expectations 
•  Living in a more open society like Belgium, what is the perception about the place of women in the kitchen 
  through the generations
• What aspects of traditional beliefs about women are still upheld and how do the new generation of
   women of African descent, see their place in the kitchen and also their definition of feminism as African women.

The kitchen is a learning space, so an inclusive kitchen that lets in diversity, offers insight into broader issues in the food system such as sustainability, biodiversity, hunger, food waste climate change, deforestation and many others.

The project will kick off with a hybrid discussion panel with innovative chefs of migrant origin working in Belgium. The session will be open to the public. The Chefs will discuss their journey through the Belgian horeca sector, their achievements, what worked for them and also the challenges. Of interest is how their work has been influenced by their background; if there is a place for input from ethnic food cultures in  European cooking methods to create something new - a fusion cuisine. They will also be discussed how their work addresses some of the social challenges in the country and in the global food system.

Following the panel discussion, there will be two sessions of cooking classes with 10 registered participants in each class. The goal is for the chefs to educate and inspire people with recipes for healthy and sustainable consumption. This will also help to broaden the culinary horizons of the participants, showing them how to use some of the available but unknown healthy ingredients that are on sale in Brussels stores, can be used.

This cooking portion will be followed by a session of world music and a multicultural six-course banquet prepared by immigrant chefs and cooks.

This event is an initiative of the Food Bridge vzw funded by the International solidarity Depertment of the city of Brussels Belgium