‘When I studied in Brighton, I learned to cook Indian at a pop-up restaurant. We cooked weekly in different pubs together with an Indian woman. At one point we became a regular part of the pub. We cooked there in a tiny kitchen, but it was great fun and I learned a lot from it. I was helping myself, especially busy with cutting and preparing. But I did learn a lot about making curries. 

I can now share that knowledge in the kitchen at GZG. The nice thing here is that people from different backgrounds bring their own kitchen. An Italian teaches others about making pasta, a French about tasty soup, and yet another one how to make kiwi dressing or banana ice cream. We are all challenged in cooking with the products we have, instead of with a recipe. Sometimes you want to make a curry and there is no coconut milk, that is a challenge. 

But it’s amazing to see what you can cook from things that would otherwise be thrown away. So you understand that I am into cooking. I also work at Lilith, a café restaurant on the Nieuwe Binnenweg, and I am into journalism, mainly focused on the cultural scene in Rotterdam. Nightlife, music, art and food are themes I write about regularly. All of that happened within only year, as I have only just started living here. I grew up in London and got my history degree in Brighton. But you quickly get used to the Dutch lifestyle. Cycling here, so healthy! 

Hopefully, initiatives such as GZG will be picked up more, by governments for example. Food waste is so unnecessary. It would be great if every supermarket, bakery or cafe in town could give away their leftover food, so that it becomes the norm in everyday consumption.’