City food blogger steps up to help people in need
A GLASGOW food blogger who triumphed against the odds in a hit TV cooking contest is helping vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis.
Sabrina Ramzan Butt, who lives on the South Side of the city, has pledged to cook up to 200 healthy meals every week for people struggling to feed their families in Glasgow and beyond.
Sabrina, who won Channel 4’s Cooking Up a Fortune series – in which amateur cooks compete to sell homemade dishes to the public – is hoping local restaurants will get on board too.
She said: “As someone who is passionate about food, I felt I had to step up to make sure people weren’t left hungry during this crisis. The need for food to support vulnerable groups has increased significantly, and plan to carry on cooking hot, nutritious meals for as long as I possibly can.”
So far, Sabrina has prepared meals for key workers in Glasgow as part of the national One Million Meals campaign, and has cooked and packed
Iportions of curry and rice for Crookston Community Centre, Empower Women for Change and local foodbanks.
She has also, in partnership with the charity Milan Senior Welfare Organisation (SWO), provided 60 meals for vulnerable people in Edinburgh and Lothian.
Sabrina took part in last year’s Cooking Up a Fortune just six weeks after she had given birth to her second child.
Disaster struck when her cooking partner – sister-inlaw Romana – had to drop out just before the final because of a family emergency.
Sabrina decided to carry on and persuaded her husband – “a complete cooking novice” – to step in. The couple went on to win the series.
Sabrina, who continues to run the Sabrina’s Kitchen blog on Instagram and YouTube, said she was determined to keep preparing meals for the community during the coronavirus crisis.
She said: “It can be a bit challenging being in the kitchen with my two-year-old and one-year old kids demanding my attention at the same time, but it’s the very least I can do.”