news
Spotlight on the Hubb Community Kitchen entrepreneurs
Spotlight on the Hubb Community Kitchen entrepreneurs
Written by
Ruth Coustick-Deal
External Affairs Lead
We are proud to be working with the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London.
The women of the Hubb Community Kitchen recently released a cookbook, Together, which was backed by HRH The Duchess of Sussex and The Royal Foundation, the proceeds of which are strengthening the local community.
Today, The Duchess of Sussex is visiting the Hubb Community Kitchen to see how the proceeds from ‘Together: Our Community Cookbook’ are already making a difference locally. #CookTogether pic.twitter.com/YbFgXwNezP
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) November 21, 2018
Who are the Hubb Community Kitchen?
The Hubb Community Kitchen is a group of women who have come together to prepare fresh food for their local community.
After being displaced following the Grenfell tower fire, some of the local women needed a place to cook fresh food for their families. They began to use the kitchen at the Al-Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, where the women who worked there had been using the facilities to cook for the community. They all shared the kitchen for two days every week, preparing food and eating together. Word spread and more local women began to join in, embracing community and supporting their neighbours in their time of need.
Soon there were women from different cultures all cooking, swapping recipes, talking and laughing. As they cooked, they began to connect, heal and look forward, and have continued to cook together twice a week.
This community of women became known as the Hubb Community Kitchen - Hubb means ‘love’ in Arabic. The women of the Hubb Community Kitchen describe it as a place of good food, love, support and friendship.
About Together
Earlier in the year the women launched Together: Our Community Cookbook, with the support of The Royal Foundation, to help fund the Hubb Community Kitchen. The book includes 55 recipes from a variety of cultures and traditions, the proceeds from which have allowed them to keep the kitchen open for seven days a week, and for it to be completely refitted and refurbished.
Many of these women want to use their drive and passion to launch further outreach projects in their local community. With support and mentoring from UnLtd, the women are embarking on new projects for lasting social change.
Some of the social entrepreneurs we’re supporting include:
Leila Hedjem
Leila will be using the Hubb Community Kitchen to offer freshly cooked meals for women affected by domestic violence. The goal is to create an empowering environment that can be a space of joy, whilst also being highly practical.
Leila is keen to address the gaps in support, the room for improvement, and the specific concerns that women in that situation have, including support young children and families in shelters. The project will ensure the space is welcoming to children, providing them with activities like cooking and crafting, which they can do together.
Instead of just providing accommodation, she wants to make it quicker and easier for women to get back on their feet and live positive lives, in a much more holistic way.
Cherine Mallah
Cherine is concerned about the high numbers of children in the UK who are overweight, or who have severe food allergies. Much of the marketing for existing snacks for kids is misleading about how healthy they are, which then contributes to these issues. Her idea is to tackle this problem with genuinely nutritious treats that are low in calories and sugar, and available locally, so that snack time can be enjoyed without guilt.
Building on baking extensively for friends and family, then taking on hygiene training, which is now available in the fully re-fitted kitchen, Cherine is ready to start a food-based business. The Hubb Community Kitchen is the home for this scheme too, being used both to create the food, and as a space for health and wellbeing workshops for the community.
UnLtd is proud to be working with the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen, as they take these next steps on their journey.