Cooking Class Recognised With Awards

Local social services organisation Participate Australia (PA) presented Canterbury Executive Chef Stephanie Azar with their Ray Garden Memorial Award in recognition of the amazing cooking classes she runs for people with intellectual disabilities.

Stephanie’s special cooking classes have run in conjunction with participants from PA for the past two years. In each six-week program, students learn basic kitchen skills, knife skills and simple recipes that they can cook themselves at home like pasta bake, noodle salad, mash, stir-fries and pizzas.

Just weeks after receiving this award, the program was the winner in the Disability, Welfare & Social Inclusion category at the ClubsNSW 2019 Clubs & Community Awards.

The awards night, hosted by 2GB journalist and presenter Ben Fordham, saw clubs from as far as Tweed Heads, Gunnedah and Deniliquin attend. It was a glittering affair for the 1,000 attendees to come together to celebrate the club industry’s good work in the community.

“It is a great honour to receive these awards and my thanks to everyone who was involved. I enjoy doing the classes because I see the worth in what it means to the participants and it gives me a sense of gratitude knowing I am teaching them simple life skills that most of us take advantage of in our lives,” said Stephanie.

“Seeing the growth in confidence and satisfaction in the participants makes me really proud to be a part of their journey.”