From start to finish, Female Voices Feast at JW3 was filled with laughter and women bonding over their love of cooking. It was an evening of food and conversation, bringing together women from different beliefs and backgrounds to cook, eat and share food stories. The event in January was the second of two events run by 3FF in partnership with JW3 and Rabia’s Garden and supported by Near Neighbours.

Throughout the evening, women were invited to participate in the cooking and preparation of a vegetarian Tunisian feast lead by French chef Fabienne Viner-Luzzato. The exotic and flavourful dishes included shakshuka, samosas, and many more.

Women were also invited to pay artist and poet Sophie Herxheimer a visit, and tell her a food-story from their life. Sophie used ink to capture the stories by writing them out and drawing portraits and images from the accounts recited. Each piece was unique and portrayed beautifully. By the end of the evening the wall was filled with many of the women’s stories in the room, some were quirky and funny, some were very poignant, and others light-hearted and heart-warming.

The Female Voices space soon became filled with delightful aromas and conversation. There were many opportunities to make connections with new people.

The evening culminated with everyone sharing and enjoying the feast they had made together. The once bustling kitchen quietened down. Women covered the tables with vibrant fabric, put out table settings, lit tea lights, and hung fairy lanterns. The lights were dimmed and the spread of delicious food was laid out to eat. By the time of the feast, the walls were covered with food-stories that had been created throughout the evening.