Virus-expert councillor’s meals service is a success
A Bath councillor has teamed up with a professional chef to give out free homemade meals to underprivileged locals and residents of a homeless shelter.
Disease control expert and Combe Down councillor, Dr Bharat Pankhania, has become a familiar face to many for offering advice to people across the planet on the coroanavirus pandemic, but he has been busy closer to home as well.
Dr Pankhania has been making dozens of vegetable Gujarati meals since mid-april and then delivering them each week, with the help of friends, to Foxhill residents who need them.
The goodwill doesn’t stop there as he managed to get chefs Tushar and Rumit Lakhani, the father-son duo behind The White Horse Inn in South Gloucestershire, on board and they make 140 meals a week for residents at the Julian House homeless hostel in Bath.
In more than two months, the three of them have made more than 1,000 meals and raised more than £1,000 in donations towards a Hindu temple in London that has provided free food to key workers during the pandemic.
“I wanted to feed people with my cooking,” he said.
“I could not alleviate their poverty but I can give them a food treat.
“I tried to get this going with the council but there were some insurmountable hurdles to overcome.
”I got in contact with Tushar and I commissioned him a small amount to cook with me.”
“I have been doing around 40 meals a week and delivering them every Saturday and the chefs deliver 140 meals twice a week to Julian House.
“I told my friend Paul Roles about this and he suggested Julian House and he got it sorted, so I want to say a big thank you to him.
“In Foxhill, I was helped by Nola Edwards for the deliveries.
“She has been a great help too.” Over the last two and a bit months, Dr Pankhania and the chefs have also cooked vegetable curries, pasta dishes, and mixed vegetable and noodle meals.
“It has been a pleasure and we will continue for a little longer,” he said.
“People have been very appreciative. Some may not have tried Gujarati food so I hope they like it.
“We have been asking for donations and people have kindly given us more than £1,000.
“That will go towards the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir which has provided thousands of meals to people during the pandemic.
“I would like to expand this but I don’t have the cooking space at home so if anyone can help me with that in Bath, that would be great.”