‘MY KITCHEN is a safe haven where I can find peace and clarity’
For years Nana Anto-awuakye refused to cook, but a demanding job has led her to a love of chopping onions…
It’s my place of refuge from the terrible things I’ve seen
When I was a young girl, my mum used to sit me in the kitchen and try to teach me how to cook. She would make the delicious chicken stews and jollof rice that were part of my Ghanaian heritage, but I would sigh and roll my eyes, vowing to be a career woman. It still surprises me that being in the kitchen has become my favourite place to unwind.
I got my wish to have a good career. For the last decade, I’ve worked as a disaster coordinator for the aid charity CAFOD. My work has taken me all over the world. I’ve witnessed the devastating aftermath of earthquakes in Haiti, Pakistan and Nepal. I’ve seen the effects of extreme poverty up close in South Sudan and, most recently, Ethiopia.
It wasn’t until I took up cooking and baking that I found my place of refuge from all the terrible things I had seen. I’ve always had a policy of not talking about the harrowing events I’ve witnessed. I think to myself, ‘I’m home now, I want to enjoy my family and friends.’ My kitchen is my safe haven, where I can process my thoughts and find peace and clarity.
I only discovered a love of cooking when I got married 13 years ago. Dinner was a burden that my husband and I shared. Years before, a friend had given me a Mary Berry cookbook and it somehow came with me every time I moved house. One day, searching for inspiration, I opened it and attempted her chicken pot pie. It came out perfectly. From then on, I used her recipes, adapting them with flavours of my own, adding tomatoes to shepherd’s pie and chillies to the liver and bacon. Gradually, after a lot of experimenting, I learnt that you can add any leftovers to a risotto and it will come out well, that I could bake a pretty good Victoria sponge, and that everyone goes mad for my coconut cake.
The big revelation, though, is how relaxed cooking makes me feel. Whenever I step into my kitchen, I feel instantly calmer. I particularly enjoy chopping onions or beating together a cake mixture. Sometimes I put the radio on quietly for some background music; other times I like to be alone with my thoughts. Being on my own is the most important thing, so that I can completely lose myself in the task at hand. My husband and teenage son know not to interrupt me.
Cooking gives me the space to download the experiences I’ve had and to work through them. For me, there’s joy in the routine and in creating something for others. Travelling to some of the world’s poorest nations has really made me understand the importance of feeding your family. It makes me appreciate everything I have all the more.