The first UNWA ‘Cultural Luncheon’ was held on September 24. Some 15 people participated. All reached home safely. There was, of course, a bit more than that in between! Hitomi Glemarec, Sumie Anzo and Yuko Nakamura taught us to make Norimaki – those lovely and pretty rounds of rice and filling, wrapped in almost black seaweed.

Everybody had a go. Your correspondent was too greedy and tried to force too much stuffing into his! Guest Chef Kunito Nishimura taught us how to make tempura, the wonderful Japanese deep fried shrimps (or anything else) in batter. You would not imagine how much success in frying revolves around the advance storage and temperature of the various ingredients. Mr. Nishimura used to be a chef; he had taken time off from his present job as boss of Samurai Mineral Water!

As an extra bonus we all learnt how to fold an origami crane.

This was followed by a lunch with some additional dishes and here all sorts of cooking tips were exchanged. It certainly is the first time your correspondent had had a discussion on deep-frying with a Gambian, an Indian, a Japanese, a Trinidadian, and a Sri Lankan at the same time.