By Rebecca Mancini
Published in June 2017
“Phone” calls out the fellow from the dishwasher as the phone rings. “I’ll get it” calls a young man from across the room as he dashes through the hub of activity. “Maurita’s Kitchen”, he says as he picks up the phone. At the stove, Jenny and Sheena smile at each other as he starts describing all the activity that is happening in the Kitchen on this particular morning. “Someone is making wraps and burritos, there’s Carrot Ginger Soup and Thai Chili on the stove, the beans just boiled over, chickpea burgers are on the grill, we’re making a bunch of salads, Jenny is making quiche, Clive is delivering the pizzas and all of Myrna’s baking to the Cafe, there’s a batch of hummus being made, there’s a game of jeopardy going on, we’re gonna make some falafel and spanakopita and someone else is cutting 40 cups of sweet potatoes for a catering order”. We know who is on the other end of the phone without asking. John has been a part of many Working Centre projects for the past 15 years but as he has gotten older, he is no longer able to leave the house independently and so each morning he calls Maurita’s Kitchen to learn who is there and what we are making.
The description of the hub of activity that John hears each morning varies with who is present and what they are doing but the spirit, the energy and the sheer volume of production of food remain the same.
Maurita’s Kitchen is the spot where we prepare the food that is served at the Queen Street Commons Café. The Queen Street Commons can have anywhere between 300-400 people come through in a day and Maurita’s Kitchen works to make sure that there is a diverse enough selection available that everyone finds something they are looking for.
In the lively hub that is the Queen Street Commons, the breadth of variety, the quantity and the quality of the food offerings often gets taken for granted, but in Maurita’s Kitchen it is part of the air we breathe. Every day we craft approximately 30 different recipes, making about 20-40 portions of each item and we make everything from raw ingredients, using very few shortcuts. The dishes range from soups and stews; to pizzas, salads and handheld goodies; to cakes and cookies.
On top of this daily production, we also offer a popular catering menu that includes some of our favourite salads and entrees as well as some tasty sampling trays.
A Dedicated Crew
It’s a vast quantity of food and there is a very dedicated crew of people who join the Kitchen each day to make it possible. These are people who are drawn to the idea of food, who are looking to build their cooking and kitchen skills, who have community service hours, who want to be out and about with others, who want to build their language skills. The range of people who come is wide and each of them joins the crew, learns the ropes and offers what they have.
How Maurita’s Kitchen Responds
Many kitchens would respond to this high level of production, the pressure to hold quality and the diversity of cooks, by running a tight ship. In Maurita’s Kitchen, we have decided to embrace the communal nature of food and we trust in each person’s capacity to create an offering for the daily production. One thing that is very clear is that everyone has an opinion about food and as it is something that is very close to people’s hearts, everyone has their own way of crafting a meal. You might think that cooking from a recipe is a very clearly defined process with instructions that will produce something uniform, but as we have discovered time and again, a recipe is merely a way for people to demonstrate their innate creativity. No recipe ever comes out the same way when it is made by different people! And yet, as each person walks through the door, we give them a recipe to craft. When cooking for a restaurant, this approach may seem counterintuitive, but it is this distributive approach that is at the core of the life and spirit of Maurita’s Kitchen.
People take great joy in what they are able to create and contribute towards the whole. Sometimes people are learners and need lots of help as they work through the recipe but next time, they might be helping someone else learn a technique or trick. Sometimes people come with food knowledge in their bones and delight in learning new recipes. If someone is not able to read or follow a recipe, they join up with someone or we find tasks that don’t need a recipe. By assuming a person’s capability and not letting our concern for speed and quality be the judging factor, we let ourselves be surprised by each person’s contribution.
Food naturally draws people together and as each person tries to find a corner of a table to work at, they are drawn into conversations. Around food, people easily find things to talk about – whether it’s the size of the carrots or the heat of the space. People work together, everyone tastes and comments, adjustments are made and each person’s contribution is celebrated. We find that people relax into the food, allow themselves to be their quirky selves and new connections spring up. If you ever come by Maurita’s Kitchen, it is a buzz with conversation, music, the sounds of chopping, stirring, blending, and the whirl of many different people in a small space. It is a genuine community where people come, offer themselves and receive plenty more in return.
