One of the highlights in 2025 was seeing the satisfying conclusion of a collaboration which began in 2024 between Risingholme and the Share Kai Cooks Collective. Following a successful application for ACE Aotearoa Professional Development (PD) funding, Risingholme organised a series of workshops for migrant women from the Share Kai Cooks Collective. These workshops helped empower the women to share their cooking skills with learners and achieve meaningful pathways into employment as cooking tutors.
Much like the cooking process itself, this collaboration was akin to creating a new dish: Each organisation, and individual within it, brought unique ingredients into the mix. Different skills, cultures, and life experiences came together in both the classroom and the kitchen, simmering over time to eventually become something richer than the sum of its parts.
Risingholme first connected with Share Kai through hosting a series of community meals in summer 2024 in Risingholme’s Hall. Called Shared Kai and Kōrero, these sessions opened the conversation around a potential professional development opportunity enabling the Cooks to step out from the kitchen and into the classroom with a view to sharing their skills with more learners via a Risingholme cooking course.
The women in the Share Kai Cooks Collective are already exceptional cooks. Their passion for sharing dishes made lovingly with their wider community was evident. Recognising that this embodied knowledge can be complemented by building their confidence and skillset in teaching adults, Risingholme applied for ACE Aotearoa PD funding to create a series of workshops that would prepare them for the role of tutors.
The workshops were broken down into three main streams:
1. Teaching Adults:
This workshop covered the basic principles of teaching adults and how to create lesson plans. The session was delivered by experienced adult educator and facilitator, Jennifer Leahey.
2. How to teach a cooking class:
Building on the previous workshop, these sessions focused on how to tailor teaching within the specific setting of a kitchen, recognising that this is a distinct type of practical learning environment. This session was led by Risingholme’s Cooking tutor and mentor to the cooks, Karen Ogg. As Karen pointed out, “the tutors found the workshop valuable as it enabled them to experience cooking a new recipe as a class participant and understanding the pivotal role the tutor plays in ensuring participants successfully learn a new recipe and enjoy themselves in the process.”
3. Practical Cooking Sessions:
Following the delivery of the ‘Tastes from Around the World’ course in 2024, the cooks/tutors got to further hone their tutor skills with a series of cooking sessions for Risingholme and Share Kai volunteers and staff in 2025. These sessions simulated a regular cooking class in a familiar and supportive environment for the tutors, allowing them to continue building their skills and confidence with learners.
The practical cooking sessions were a particular highlight as it recognised the collaborative nature of learning. They were a vehicle for showcasing not only the growth of the cooks as tutors, but also their passion for sharing their culture through food. Over the course of three weeks, tutors Tulasha, Semira, and Jamila led a cooking class making Nepalese momos, Eritrean Doro Wat (Chicken Stew), and Ghormeh Sabzi (a meat stew from Afghanistan).
Many of the dishes included ingredients not typically used in Western cooking like a special Berebere spice mix for the Doro Wat and a herby vegetable mix for the Gormeh Sabzi. This made for lots of interesting discussion about how to recreate these dishes at home, and the tutors were very helpful in pointing out potential swaps that could be made to show how the recipes were flexible but still tasty and true to the cuisine.
Given that many of the participants were Risingholme tutors themselves, these sessions were a form of professional development for them too as they got to not only experience what it is like to be a learner in a fun, social atmosphere, but also be exposed to other teaching practices and techniques that may inform how they approach their own teaching.
At the completion of each session, the tutor and learners gathered around the bench and shared a meal together, chatting between bites. This was an opportunity to learn more about the tutors, their culture, and hear more of their food stories which they were happy to share. It was the perfect way to end each session, with full bellies and smiles all around.
Following the completion of this series of PD workshops, the tutors have utilized their skills in various ways. They continue to take part in Share Kai and Kōrero and have recently announced the opening of a Cooks Collective Café—a commercial venture with community connection at its heart. Jamila, who is the Café Co-ordinator has also since gone on to open her own stall at one of the local markets where she shares her food and passion for cooking with the public. 
Risingholme’s core values emphasise enjoyment, enrichment, and effortless participation in our communities by providing opportunities for people to come together and connect through lifelong learning. This initiative, backed by ACE Aotearoa through their Professional Development Grant, underscored the shared commitment to learning and created an experience that nourishes both tutors and learners. As one of the tutors, Tulasha put it: “I never thought that one day I would be teaching something”, showing the personal impact the professional development has had on her.
As summarised by Risingholme Director Lynda Megson, “there was a shared vision for supporting the mahi of these women and the skills they could bring to the table as educators. By combining tutor training with practical sessions in a supportive learning environment, we gave these women the chance to implement their lesson plans and grow as tutors. It was invaluable for their development, and we’re proud to have been part of their ongoing learning journey alongside ACE Aotearoa.”
You can also read a brief summary of the workshops in the Summer 2025 issue of the ACE Aotearoa Newsletter.
To learn more about Share Kai and see the cooks in action during one of their PD workshops with Karen, see the video here.