A chat at the door and a healthy meal delivered at home. For 5 years, Chris and Thea have been cooking with heart and soul for the elderly and vulnerable residents in Overschie. On Saturday, March 22, they celebrate the milestone with a neighborhood party.
In most photos, they are wearing kitchen aprons. But for Wijknieuws, Chris van der Gaag and Thea Visser have put on a pink outfit from the closet. ‘We coordinated that,’ the cooks say during a short tour of the living room of the Leeuwenflat on Abtsweg.
Little Boost
While a group of flat residents sit around the shuffleboard and one disc after another shoots away, Chris opens the kitchen door in the hall. ‘This is where it happens.’ She refers to the meals they cook every Tuesday with Thea.
They met 5 years ago at Wilskracht Werkt. Thea is now a volunteer at wmo radar. She says: ‘We had just started with the 12-oclock lunch, a weekly lunch for residents. It was going well until corona broke out and everything had to close. There was a bit of panic. What do we do with all that chicken in the freezer? I thought: well make chicken soup out of that. We placed it contactlessly at residents doors; they were happy with a little boost. We started cooking meals and havent stopped since.’
Mountains of Vegetables
Residents pay 4 euros per meal and have it delivered at home, with a puzzle included. Mash with gravy; chicken with curry; bami and nasi or a pork tenderloin: the menu is always different. And always prepared with fresh ingredients.
‘For the pea soup, there were mountains of vegetables here,’ Chris says. ‘We go through all the offers to buy as cheaply as possible. We are very different, but cooking together goes well. I weigh everything and am very precise.’ Thea laughs: ‘And I am more chaotic and cook more by feeling. Is something burning? Then we give a twist to the dish. The first time we were tired but satisfied after making 23 meals. Now we cook over 120 healthy meals a week!’
On Saturday, March 22, Chris and Thea celebrate that they have been cooking for 5 years. There are stalls with new and second-hand items from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., a wheel of fortune, and sandwiches.
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Rotterdam Wijknieuws
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