“I have no children, but I hope I will leave some of me with these people… I hope I do them as much good as they do me.” ”
Anne-Marie Lemay is a cook-trainer for the organization Le Mûrier. Each week, she helps people living with mental health challenges prepare meals, gain self-confidence and connect with others through food. As International Cooks Day will be marked on October 20, I asked him to take us behind the scenes of the community kitchen. The one that transforms lives before food.
“On my LinkedIn profile, I wrote:“ I want to team up with a social economy organization that contributes positively to society and its advancement. ” I found exactly what I was looking for last July. ”
Anne-Marie Lemay, with her background in public relations, tourism and entrepreneurship, landed at Le Mûrier three months ago. The organization accommodates people in eastern Montreal struggling with mental health problems and helps feed many others through its Cooking Together initiative. The project includes a community kitchen (La Fabrique à bouffe) and tailor-made workshops.
Who are they intended for, exactly? Francis Messier, coordinator of Cuisinons ensemble, answers me: “If I had to make a typical portrait of our clientele, I would say that it is someone in his forties or fifties who has recently been in an apartment and who has left. an institution with a mental health problem such as depression, schizophrenia or borderline personality. This individual generally lives below the poverty line, and is then recommended to us by a psychosocial worker. We then pair him up with one of our four cook-trainers because food is essential to physical and psychological well-being… since we are often more cheerful in front of a good meal! ”
Here comes Anne-Marie.
“I’ve always cooked, but I’m not a chef! I am self-taught and imperfect. It’s great, so the participants don’t feel inferior! I like to remind them that we are a team, that I am here to help them… And that I am really not good at cooking rice! ”
Anne-Marie Lemay is spontaneous and laughing. I have no difficulty believing that his participants adore him. Right now, she sees five. Everyone is entitled to 21 hours of training, directly at home.
During these meetings, Anne-Marie helps each person take an inventory of their kitchen, find recipes they like, go through the flyers, do their grocery shopping, learn culinary techniques and prepare dishes independently. However, no protocol is set in stone. Everything is personalized according to the condition, culture and environment of the participant. Some do not have an oven, others need accompaniment for lunches and some already have a solid foundation, in the kitchen for example …
“It’s clear that we make a lot of Chinese pâtés, gratin pasta, muffins and ratatouilles,” Anne-Marie explains to me. But sometimes I learn to make Swedish Meatballs or Beef Strogonoff at the request of a participant! ”
Basically, what is important is not so much the final product. It’s learning and the time we spend together.
Anne-Marie Lemay, cook-trainer for Le Mûrier
Francis Messier also underlines that with Cuisinons ensemble, Le Mûrier encourages social diversity. The cooks not only come to their homes, but they also refer participants to neighborhood clubs and food banks. “Their esteem increases thanks to the autonomy they acquire. Some even say they have finally invited relatives to their homes, since they now know how to make them something to eat… ”
In fact, the benefits are vast.
I had the chance to chat with Jocelyn, a participant who is in his fourth workshop with Anne-Marie – for whom he is full of praise. If he recognizes that his self-esteem is better, he explained to me that their weekly meetings also have an influence on the cyber addiction with which he deals:
Anne-Marie helps me move away from my screen to reclaim my cooking. I have to run errands before she arrives and it reminds me that in the past, I used to love doing groceries! At the same time, it breaks my isolation and helps me do more housework. When I know that Anne-Marie is coming, I want it to be clean …
Jocelyn
He laughs before adding: “Not perfectly clean, but relatively presentable!” ”
Cooking with vulnerable customers requires a delicacy and openness that are not given to everyone. “It’s a great responsibility, admits Anne-Marie. You have to be careful with the tone you use so as not to be paternalistic. We must also be completely immersed in the present moment and very attentive. Participants all have their own way of expressing what they want and feel, you know. ”
In the process, the cook-trainer confides to me that she suffers from anxiety and is therefore particularly empathetic towards the people she accompanies … She says she likes to see people beyond their condition. And I fully believe her.
When Anne-Marie Lemay talks about her work, we can guess the passion.
When she talks about the participants, you can guess the love.
“I learn from each of them,” she said … Especially confidence and letting go! I remind them that they can afford not to follow the recipe or to try business! And I’m proud every time they try it! For me, life is made up of little moments. And thanks to all those little moments, I can go to bed every night feeling like I’ve made someone’s life better. ”
Visit the website of the organization Le Mûrier