Who is the Mixing Bowl?
Kalpa Tan and Rachel Gambro originally set up the group in 2014 and by 2016 a committee of local residents was formed.
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Rachel Gambro:
"I have always enjoyed cooking, exploring new ingredients and learning about many different cuisines. Setting up the Mixing Bowl has provided the opportunity to share my passion for good food with others, increase my knowledge and have a lot of fun too.
As one of Scotland Food and Drink's 25 Regional Food Tourism Ambassadors (2021-2023) I am also keen to showcase our local producers, share their inspiring food stories and help to place Aberdeen City and Shire on the map as a unique food tourism destination. It is an exciting time!"
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Sarah Misra:
"I love learning about food and particularly trying new recipes and techniques - The Mixing Bowl has been a brilliant way to enjoy cooking with friends and neighbours while learning something new."
Kalpa Tan:
"My passion for food and cooking has come from travel, family and friends who have introduced me to many unusual foods and flavours over the years. Food plays an important part in Indian/ Asian culture, and cooking 'socially' is a way to bring family and friends together."
From left to right - back row: Lamya Atrakchi, Shirley Butler, Debbie Dunning. Front row: Kalpa Tan and Rachel Gambro
Shirley Butler:
"As someone who likes to cook and experiment with food from different countries, the Mixing Bowl has been the ideal platform for sharing my passion for food with other like-minded people in my local community. The monthly meetings are friendly and informal, and let us cook, learn and socialise all at the same time.......I love it!"
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Lamya Atrakchi:
"As I was growing up I learned to appreciate various cooking styles - each with their own distinguishing characteristics. I remember one grandmother cooked Iranian dishes and my other grandmother liked Turkish cuisine."
Debbie Dunning:
"Through my international friends I have come to appreciate quality ingredients from around the globe. I enjoy cooking and love exploring different foods and drinks."
More About The Mixing Bowl
The Mixing Bowl Aberdeen was launched in June 2014 with the aim to bring people together to learn, discover and share anything to do with food.
Prior to Covid the group met monthly during term time and was open to everyone. We ran over 60 events including talks, tastings, demonstrations and workshops by inviting local people to share their passion of good food with others; whether it be a dish from their country, a new skill they have learnt or a hobby that they love.
The Mixing Bowl also organised the annual Deeside Local Food Festival each September in Cults creating a fun food day for over 3500 visitors and providing a stage for over 70 very local food and drink businesses to showcase their products. 90% of the exhibitors, chefs and other participants came from within our own AB postcode - a unique event that we were thrilled to create. During Covid we created the Deeside Food Hub which allowed customers access to our locally produced food in a safe and distanced way. Since then we have also lead some outreach workshops with various groups around the city.
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Find out more about all of our projects by clicking through the menu at the top of the page.