Adrienne Williams (second from left) shares her pastry skills with Coen women. Photo: Supplied.
Coen’s resident chef has shared her pastry talents with the community through a new Coen Regional Aboriginal Corporation (CRAC) initiative.
Adrienne Williams was the first to put her hand up to volunteer for the skill-sharing initiative as part of CRAC’s mobile support services, which supports community members with physical, mental and social wellbeing.
With 25 years of experience as a qualified chef under her belt, she caters several gatherings and events in Coen through her business, The Grub Truck, and has often been sought after by community members to teach them skills in cooking and baking.
Ms Williams said the women who attended were engaged and eager to learn, especially about the challenges of pastry making in a hot climate.
“I really loved that they embraced it,” the chef said.
“It was really interesting, because there were a lot of questions about why something was working or why it wouldn’t, and why it was important to keep it cold.”
She said many of the women’s artistic talents translated into the decorating portion of the class.
“All of those tops, they did themselves,” Ms Williams explained.
“Someone mentioned weaving, and I thought there’s so much more you can do with it, so I found a whole lot of pictures and put all the cutters out and said go for it.
“There was one that told a whole story; it had the letters of her kids on it, and I thought that was really special, because it was telling a story – her story.”
CRAC general manager Lucretia Huen said the skill-sharing initiative was another way for the organisation to help community members and target underlying issues.
“Rather than looking at the what, we’re looking at the why, and how we can support families with issues under the surface,” Ms Huen said.
“There’s a wealth of skills and knowledge in Coen, so we looked at how we could tap into that in a way that the community would benefit.”
The general manager said they were looking for community members with any skills, talents or knowledge to volunteer their time.
“It could be anything that the community has to offer; it could be meditation, yoga, computer skills, mechanical skills,” Ms Huen said.
“It also doesn’t just have to be a skill; it could be a talent that someone picked up and wants to share with the community.”
The artistic talents of the women shone through when decorating their creations. Photo: Supplied.
