Last Friday, we hosted another cooking workshop in which some volunteers introduced traditional dishes from their home countries and taught participants how to prepare them. This time, Fabienne, a volunteer from Italy and two volunteers from Spain, Hermes and Bet, decided to cook Gnocchi and Gazpacho. The preparations for the workshop started on the previous day in which they went to the supermarket to buy all the needed ingredients. On the day of the event, the volunteers made sure everything was set and ready, moreover once the participants started arriving a group of volunteers welcomed them and sat them down.

After everyone had arrived, the Spanish volunteers started explaining the origins of the dish, presented the ingredients, and guided participants through each step of the preparation process. Firstly, the participants had to cut the tomatoes, green peppers, cucumber and garlic. Unfortunately, since it would have been impossible to allow the participants to prepare the gazpacho, the volunteers had to take the ingredients to another room and blend them all together. Once everything was blended, the soup was left it in the fridge to rest.

In the meantime, Fabienne, gave a brief presentation about the Italian cuisine and the importance of pasta in the Italian culture. Afterwards it was time for the participants to experience how to cook it themselves. They started by peeling and mashing the potatoes, that had been previously cooked by
Fabienne. The next task was to join eggs and flour to create a soft dough. With the dough, the participants formed ropes that were then sliced, and each slice was then rolled on a fork. Once all the dough was finally divided into the small gnocchi it was time to cook. Nonetheless, Fabienne had to cook the gnocchi in boiling water, as well as prepare the tomato sauce.

While the participants were waiting for the gnocchi to cook, they had the chance to try the gazpacho, play games with the other volunteers, learn about the different cultures and share traditions. When the gnocchi were finally ready, the participants were served this typical Italian dish.

We ended the workshop with many smiling faces and an invitation for all
the participants to come to the next one.

Article by Patrícia Mendes

European Solidarity Corps volunteer

Workshops from European Solidarity Corps volunteers of 17/07/2026