Boorowa CWA members, along with members from the Young CWA were all ears as two residents - Maureen Kaandorp who grew up in the Netherlands and Jo Snelling who grew up in England - each spoke about the customs, traditions and food from each of these countries.

Hazel Duffy from the Young CWA also gave a history of the Chinamans Dam in Young and members were informed of the food culture in Timor-Leste.

It provided a chance to learn more about the various cultures that make up Australia.

The most valuable part of each of the talks was the samples of food that were presented to each member in attendance with their importance to each country highlighted by the guest speakers.

These included ‘Oliebollen’, a donut-dumpling sweet that Maureen explained was traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve.

Each of the food samples were made by either the guest speakers or the CWA members.

Following the speeches, everyone sat down together for lunch which again included food from each of the guest countries such as sweet and sour pork with rice plus delicious sweets, cakes and the traditional CWA scones.

The morning was not just about eating tasty food but also reflecting on the purpose of ‘A taste of Harmony’ which is to recognise and celebrate the rich cultural diversity that exists within Australia.

‘A taste of Harmony’ was held between March 19 and 25 to coincide with National Harmony Day and encourages all workplaces - plus groups - to celebrate their diversity by coming together and enjoying foods representing the backgrounds of their colleagues or members.

This was the first time the Boorowa CWA had held their own ‘A taste of Harmony’ lunch and it is fair to say this one was a success and attracted plenty of interest with guest speakers representing South Africa and Italy also booked in but unable to make it.

Planning has already begun on next year’s ‘A taste of Harmony’ event.