Lynda finds purpose in her passion

For Lynda Morrison, cooking has always been about connection.

As a child, it was a love she shared with her sister, with countless hours spent bonding in the kitchen over the cookbook full of international recipes she’d found at her local library.

When she travelled overseas with her family as a teenager, it became a connection to the countries she visited and their people – a way for her to share in their culture, and when she returned, a way for her to share her experiences with others.

And for much of her adult life, she has shared her joy for cooking as a primary and secondary school cookery teacher, where she has helped ignite a passion for cooking in countless children across her homeland of New Zealand, as well as in Kuala Lumpur and the United Kingdom.

So, when Lynda decided at age 55 that she wanted a change, she may have been unsure of what exactly she was going to do, but knew cooking needed to remain at the heart of whatever path she chose to take.

“I knew getting a qualification in cookery would present more options for me in the food industry, so completing a Certificate III in Commercial Cookery (SIT30821) just made sense,” Lynda said.

“I’d moved to the Sunshine Coast a couple of years prior and with all the incredible local producers and industry leaders here, it just seemed like the perfect place to take that leap.”

Keen to strengthen her credentials and gain more skills and techniques, Lynda enrolled at TAFE Queensland’s Mooloolaba campus in 2018, where—as a mature-aged student in a class of teenagers and international students—she quickly became the ‘mum’ of the group. But while the idea of returning to study later in life may seem daunting to some, Lynda says it gave her the boost she needed.

“I, like a lot of women, suffer from Imposter Syndrome, so by getting formal training and gaining these credentials, I felt like I could go into the industry confidently,” Lynda said.

“My marriage ended while I was studying and I was really lacking confidence because of my personal life, but the support and understanding I received from my teachers, and their belief in me gave me the confidence I needed. Actually, if I hadn’t been at TAFE, I don’t think I would have bounced back as much as I did.

“It really felt like we were all one big team, regardless of our various backgrounds, and it gave us the chance to experience a service in a proper kitchen but without the pressure of a real restaurant.”

After completing her qualification that same year, Lynda worked in a couple of cafes and began looking at ways to run cooking lessons that would use fresh, local produce and minimise waste.

Then, one day while she was watching TV, a piece was aired on food rescue organisation, OzHarvest. Inspired by their mission to stop food waste, feed people in need and protect the planet by championing the value of food, Lynda was looking them up when she saw they had a job listing for a chef for their team-building and volunteering program, Cooking for a Cause – a role that seemed like the perfect fit.

“Fighting food wastage has always been part of my life. My mum is 84 and grew up in the era where they didn’t waste anything, so she passed that on to us,” Lynda said.

“You hear the statistics of how much we waste, and it’s just eye-watering. Then on the flip-side, there are people going hungry, when they don’t need to be; there’s perfectly edible food right there, but we’re sending it to landfill.

“I was drawn to OzHarvest because they’re working to stop that. Cooking healthy, hearty meals from scratch always appealed to me more than working in a restaurant, and at a time when a lot of people don’t know where their next meal is coming from, being able to rescue food that would otherwise end up in landfill, repurpose it, and make healthy, nutritious meals for those in need is incredibly rewarding.”

Offered at various locations across Australia, Cooking for a Cause offers businesses and school groups the chance to work as a team and give back to their community by learning zero-waste cooking skills, while transforming rescued ingredients into gourmet meals that are then delivered to locals in need.

Using unsold produce from market stallholders that would have ended up in landfill, as well as items donated by Woolworths and Aldi and collected by OzHarvest, Lynda guides corporate groups in making nutritious meals that are then delivered fresh to local charity organisations to distribute.

Now, at 62 years of age and nearly two years into the role, Lynda says she feels as though she found her true purpose.

“The people coming into these classes are so proud of the work they do. I’ve had grown men with tears rolling down their faces because it’s so impactful – having that knowledge that they’ve made healthy meals that will help our community’s most vulnerable,” she said.

“We may be sprawled out, but we still have a community here, and Cooking for a Cause highlights that we should be looking out for each other and doing our part where we can. Knowing that you’ve made a difference to others’ lives with something as simple as a meal is huge, and that’s what I love most about cooking – creating something that others can enjoy.”

OzHarvest estimates that the average Australian is spending approximately $2200 a year on wasted food, with 70 per cent of the fruit and vegetables thrown out being perfectly edible. But Lynda says this doesn’t have to be the case, and that there are plenty of small changes we can make to curb waste.

“Stop impulse buying, don’t bargain buy fresh food you don’t need, and get creative coming up with ways to use leftover produce,” Lynda said.

“Even just paying attention to what you have in your pantry and fridge and marking items that are getting close to expiry and need to be used can make a difference, because it’s keeping it front-of-mind when you are meal planning. In fact, OzHarvest produces something called ‘use it up’ tape, and the feedback I’ve had from returning Cooking for a Cause participants is that this tape has really reduced their food waste because it’s made it more visible.”

Having found her path, Lynda hopes to continue connecting with others through her love of cooking, while inspiring others to do the same.

“People often hear ‘cookery’ and think the only path is working as a chef in a restaurant, but there are so many fulfilling opportunities out there – you just have to look for them.”