Cookbook celebrates six wonderful years at Cork's 'Field of Dreams'

Mon, 08 May, 2023 - 08:03

Kate Ryan

BUILD it, and they will come! The mission statement may be borrowed from the film Field of Dreams - but the positivity that pours from Down Syndrome Cork’s pioneering educational hub for adults with Down Syndrome is entirely of their own making.

It’s been six years since Field of Dreams opened their three-acre garden and teaching hub on Clash Road, Curraheen. The centre addresses a gap in supports for adults with Down Syndrome by providing structured education that can lead to rewarding employment opportunities, as well as a social outlet.

Its success lies in the teaching medium: Field of Dreams utilises the therapeutic and educational activities of gardening, horticulture and cookery to instil students with skills they need to lead independent lives.

Earlier this year, they released their first cookbook, Dream Food, launched on World Down Syndrome Day by Cork’s Lord Mayor.

Debbie Kelleher is the Care Co-Ordinator at Field of Dreams working closely with a small, hard-working team of teachers, horticulturalists and support specialists.

The team included Class Teacher, Bunny Hurley, who long hoped to create a cookbook from the recipes she and the students have designed, cooked and tasted together over the years – even growing the vegetables needed for some of the dishes.

Bunny Hurley, cookery & horticulture teacher, Field of Dreams, and her daughter Hazel Hurley at the launch of Dream Food. Picture Denis Minihane.

Bunny says: “Over the years, we have been writing and creating our recipes, working with the seasonal chemical free crops that we grow. We start with a seed packet and grow our own food, then harvest, prepare, preserve, sell or cook this bounty. In my experience, this is the best way to influence healthy diets and a care for nature.”

Field of Dreams is a charitable project entirely self-funded. The cookbook is one way in which to raise funds and awareness, but also acts as a daily source of inspiration for students.

“We want the book to act as a reference for the students. They each have their own copy, and they have a huge sense of pride in their book,” says Debbie.

“Recently, one of the parents said she made some of our recipes and commented how delicious they were. I hope that will encourage our students to continue making these recipes at home. We all go home and cook, but for our guys it’s allowing them the opportunity to do it themselves at home: guide and support them of course, but let them do it themselves so they develop these skills.”

Dream Food was made possible thanks to Field of Dreams’ participation in the Apple School’s Programme.

“I had no experience of generating a cookbook,” says Debbie, “but we got on Apple School’s Programme and received 20 iPads. Part of this was embedding the tech into our programmes, so that came with an expert who helped us embed the iPads into, for example, our Literacy and Technology Programme.

“We were asked what we would like to use the iPads for, and Bunny said it was her dream to do a cookbook, but we didn’t know how to get going.

“The expert said she could assist us with that, and so we fished out all our recipes from the last six years and, using the Book Creator app, edited and uploaded them, put together a prototype, and sent it off to print. Lo and behold, we had our cookbook!”

One of the students came up with the title, Dream Food, but student input stretches far beyond that.

“Bunny consults the students every week as to what recipes they want to cook. One of the days, they wanted a burger and a salad. Bunny asked what kind of salads, and the students mentioned they loved potato salad and coleslaw. Bunny said, OK, if you want to do potato salad, you must grow your own potatoes and spring onions, and for the coleslaw, grow the cabbage and carrots.

“Eventually, they got to make and eat their potato salad, coleslaw and burger, but the difference was they had worked together to grow many of the ingredients needed to make the meal. In the same way, Dream Food was a totally collaborative project with the students involved from the outset.”

Councillor Deirdre Forde, Lord Mayor of Cork, signing a book for John Sweetnam, one of the students who created recipes for the first cook book, Dream Food. Picture: Denis Minihane.

In March, Field of Dreams received a prestigious Irish Food Writers’ Guild Community Food Award. Recognition such as this has propelled the project into the limelight with more interest than ever from the business community looking to participate in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.

“We host two or three CSRs a week, so it’s really escalated. The word is out there, people want to come and see what we’re doing and it’s a lovely way to share with the corporates because they all want to give back.”

While those who participate in the CSRs get to spend a day at a time in the gardens and polytunnels, providing much needed extra hands with weeding, maintenance and other tasks, their presence on site provides another innovative learning opportunity for the students by hosting their own Visitor Café’s.

“Hosting the café is part of their programme, now. They have to host visitors they don’t know and do everything: cook food, serve it, take the visitors on a tour of the gardens, do a meet and greet, set up and clean down.

“We are also arranging barista training every week so that’s another skillset for them. By the time they finish their programmes and are ready to go out into the workplace, they have a really good idea of all elements of the hospitality role.

“When we started doing the visits, they needed a lot of guidance, but now we’re able to stand back and let the students run it. The café is buzzing; there’s loads of talk and they’re doing it all themselves. This is the exact skillset we want them to have, so when they go out into the workplace, they can talk to people they don’t know and have a small bit of chit chat.

“The graduates who have completed the two-year programme now, their confidence levels are up to here, and they just love doing the café.”

Providing any and every opportunity for students to build their confidence and feed their sense of independence is hugely important for when they leave the shelter of Field of Dreams and, hopefully, enter the workplace, going on to lead fulfilling lives.

Margaret Greaney is the Employment Support Specialist at Field of Dreams working in conjunction with Down Syndrome Cork charity shop on Merchant’s Quay in the city.

In the 18 months since Margaret joined, she has successfully placed 22 students in paid part-time employment, five are currently receiving retail training and work experience at the charity shop, and ten have graduated from the charity shop.

“That’s pretty substantial,” says Debbie. “We use our charity shop as a training platform, students receive training, but they’re sheltered, so Margaret gets a really good understanding of their skillset. Then she places in employment – not just that cohort, but all the graduates that have come through our programmes, and from the membership as well.”

Job placements include roles in customer service, retail, leisure attendants, office work, assembly operator, kitchen assistance, barbers and as an optical assistant in a branch of Specsavers - all paid and all part time positions.

Field of Dreams recently opened their Expressions of Interest for the September start date for a new round of programmes. Debbie says they have received their strongest response so far, and it is highly likely that all programmes on offer will be fully subscribed.

Karen O'Mahony (left), Fiona O'Brien (centre) and Rebecca Pearson, three of the students, at the launch of Dream Food. Picture Denis Minihane.

“We’re six years here now, our employment stats are really good, our student numbers are really strong for September, and the CSR is vibrant. We’re in a really good position right now.”

The cookbook, Dream Food, is a tangible manifestation of all the good work achieved in the past six years. Without a doubt, the team’s dedication is a big part of that success, but the students are the best advertisement for how life-changing this project can be. And it all starts with planting a seed.

“A lot of the recipes in the book are quite simple, but that’s because we would like the students to replicate them at home with their parents.”

Of course, recipes don’t have to be complicated to be nutritious and delicious. Life is busy for everyone, so scratch made dishes that are quick and easy to make any day of the week that are guaranteed to work is the sign of a successful cookbook.

“Field of Dreams is a real community: we grow together, cook together and eat together. There’s so much to learn through that method of training and cookery,” says Debbie.

Dream Food, €10, is available to buy from Field of Dreams shop, Down Syndrome Cork head office in Ballincollig, and the Down Syndrome Cork shop on Merchant’s Quay.

To whet your appetite, here are my two favourite recipes from the book, with the kind permission of Field of Dreams…

Pumpkin and Chorizo Risotto

Every year, Field of Dreams plant up their pumpkin patch and sell hundreds of pumpkins in time for Halloween.

Shopping List

· 90g risotto rice per person

· 1 large onion

· Dash of rapeseed oil

· 2 vegetable stock cubs

· 1 pumpkin (Bunny recommends a Crown Prince pumpkin)

· 1 chorizo

· Pinch of mixed/Italian herbs

· Parmesan cheese, grated