Adventures in Powell River: Cooking Greek with YACK
I’m no chef. Anyone who sees me with a knife will tell you it’s best if I just stick to baking. And yet, and yet, they let me dice up cucumbers, red peppers, and olives for a salad as part of a “Greek Extravaganza” night at the Young Adult Community Kitchen (YACK).
Your chefs tonight will be: Vanessa, Brittney, Morgan, Liam, Korey, and Evan.
I was invited by Vanessa Sparrow, creator, coordinator, and kitchen headmistress of YACK, to hang out and help out at one of the weekly free drop-in nights at the Community Resource Centre (CRC) on Joyce Avenue. Vanessa is also the coordinator of the Powell River Food Security Project and works on the organizing committee for the Edible Garden Tour.
About YACK
YACK’s been going strong for four years or so and Vanessa’s aim is to provide a comfortable, relaxed place for youth ranging in age up to 25 to connect with others and cook recipes they may not otherwise.
Sifting, sifting, sifting, sifting Liam. And no, that’s not flour all over his t-shirt!
She’s quick to point out that this is not a culinary school, not a culinary program, but a social program. She says the reward comes when you sit around the table and enjoy a meal you’ve prepared together.
Salad of the Greeks.
I arrived and met the team: Brittney, Evan, Korey, Liam, and Morgan. A good sized group. Vanessa says it’s challenging to plan as you never know how many will drop in but that seven to eight is ideal. The week previous there were 15 and that was a little chaotic. And though this team consisted of a mix of YACK alumni — some have been dropping in for months, for others this was only their second time — after a quick review of the recipes and delegation of tasks, we all set to work in a somewhat organized way. Our biggest challenge was finding stuff in a kitchen not our own.
A Greek Theme
On the menu: Greek salad, roasted potatoes with garlic and lemon, chicken souvlaki with tzatziki sauce, loukoumathes (honey puffs), and Greek lemon ice cream (this was so good!). Brittney and I took on the salad while the guys and Vanessa worked on the rest of the recipes.
Mighty fine dicing. Morgan’s way better with a knife than I’ll ever be.
Local ingredients
The menu was inspired by Vanessa’s Greek craving and her belief in “the amazing power of lemons.”
When Vanessa menu plans, she invites input and then works within a budget, trying to cook within season. Ingredients from her own garden sometimes make it into the pot. The chicken we used for the souvlaki was “happy,” local, and organic.
Happy chicken and happy zucchini make happy souvlaki.
With the radio cranked there was lots of banter, singing, and Vanessa shouting, “Read the recipe!”
Need to check on the ice cream? Why walk to the freezer when you can dance? Safety and cleanliness rule the kitchen but there are times when it’s safe to dance, don’t you think?
YACK is a program under the umbrella of Powell River Employment Program (PREP) Society and sometimes youth participating in Career Link’s Bladerunners Program cross over to try YACK.
Evan, Morgan, Vanessa, and Brittney cooking on the line in the YACK kitchen.
YACK has also teamed up with Powell River Immigrant Services where newcomers from countries like Thailand, Vietnam, China, and the Philippines have brought recipes from their home countries and led the group in preparing traditional meals.
YACK also caters. Catering gigs have included the Rossander Film Festival and events at Cranberry Hall. It’s great experience and good for the résumé. Vanessa tries to create an inclusive, friendly atmosphere where you can walk through the door for the first time and not be intimidated. Her ultimate dream is to have a YACK food truck that would travel to events and places like the bike park. We all agreed that’s a pretty cool idea.
YACK’s where it’s at!
There were a lot of steps to our prep, including a quick run to the grocery store for I can’t remember what, but it was worth it once we sat down to eat. Over dinner, we talked about how we’d tweak the recipes, we joked about a chunk of potato that went flying and was later found in an unlikely place, we teased Korey about eating ice cream before dinner.
Nothin’ wrong with a little ice cream before dinner.
Conversation meandered naturally and we discussed Liam’s upcoming birthday and what he’d like to see on the menu in honour of his day. Answer: Mexican!
As we ate, I could see what Vanessa meant: it was about sitting around a table and sharing a meal. It sorta felt a wee bit like family.
Check out YACK on Facebook or visit http://www.prepsociety.org/
Angie Davey
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