Cooking for a cause

This was the message that the disadvantaged urban young women were carrying with themselves when they arrived at an event organized by hotel Le Meridien on Saturday in the country’s capital.

Launch of ‘Family Cooking Dates’ Season 3 was event where one could witness Shagun Chowdhary, who represented India in 2012 London Olympics and bagged the 20th position in trap shooting, dabbling in cooking with Master chefs of Le Meridien.

 Over 15 poor urban women were seen blending in with the guest at the very same cooking session as part of a training programme.

Special skill development training programme which was launched by Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi in April this year is all about transforming lives of young women by providing a chance to undergo training in all aspects of hotel operations. 

Delhi-based NGO- “Joining Hands” has collaborated with hotel Le Meridian in achieving the objective of imparting skills and enhancing livelihoods of the beneficiaries under the age of 25.

Speaking on the occasion, Shagun said, “I have broken the stereotype of men coming forward in the area of shooting to become the only woman to qualify for trap shooting in the Olympics. I am happy to see this unique way of supporting the cause of women by creating avenues for underprivileged women to equip themselves to earn their livelihood in the hospitality sector.” 

Meena Bhatia, Vice President-Marketing and Operations, Le Meridian said, “With the launch of Family Cooking Dates, we unveil a whole new range of specially curated family sessions. 

To have a gifted woman like Shagun to launch the cooking dates in the presence of the beneficiaries gives a new perspective to a warm message of encouragement to students of the program to embark on a new journey of a better life.”