08 March 2013
Celebrity chef Poh Ling Yeow will teach 30 international students how to cook a three-course meal in UniSA’s new commercial kitchen at City East Campus next Tuesday (March 12).
A graduate of UniSA, Poh will return to her former university to demonstrate how newly-arrived international students can cook an affordable meal for less than $20 to share with fellow students.
Equipped with their new culinary skills, the students will then later reproduce Poh’s meals in a shared dinner held at their homes.
The ‘Food and Friendships with Poh’ project is an initiative of the Healthy Kids Research Cluster and the Nutritional Physiology Research Centre. It is the brainchild of UniSA Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Food Sciences Dr Karma Pearce and Research and Innovation Cluster Leader Ms Lynette Kelly, who is being assisted by UniSA’s Language and Learning Co-ordinator Dr Shashi Nallaya.
Dr Pearce says the project, funded by a university Experience Plus grant which links students with extra-curricular activities, aims to create a sense of belonging for students who are both new to Australia and new to university life.
“This is an opportunity for students who have arrived in Adelaide in the past few weeks to connect with others in the same situation,” Dr Pearce says.
“We hope the project will help facilitate friendships and enhance the students’ sense of connectedness to their new city and their sense of belonging at UniSA.”
Dr Pearce says hosting Poh Ling Yeow – who was the 2009 MasterChef runner up and whose show Poh’s Kitchen for ABC1 has run for three seasons – at the university will be exciting for students.
“We hope the students learn valuable skills from Poh in how to cook healthy and affordable meals, and form lasting friendships in the process,” she says.
“After their class with Poh, the students will work in small groups to prepare a meal at each other’s homes, and given most international students live in the city they will be able to walk between each other’s homes.”
UniSA’s new $1 million commercial kitchen is housed in the Playford building at City East campus. It features equipment including 12 commercial ovens and cooktops, deep fryers, char griller, combi-oven and salamander. It will be used for the first time in 2013 as part of UniSA’s Bachelor of Nutrition and Food Sciences and Master of Dietetics programs.
Contact for interview: Dr Karma Pearce office 8302 1133
Media contact: Kelly Stone office 8302 0963 mobile 0417 861 832 email Kelly.stone@unisa.edu.au
