Vaughan Public Libraries hosts a monthly Cooking Conversation Circle where we invite English learners to teach us and other participants how to make a dish of their choosing and get the chance to practice using English as a speaker/presenter, while getting to know others in the community. We encourage speakers to present with a friend or family member if they’d like! If you are interested in sharing a dish through this program, take a look below for more details!
This hands-on program is for everyone in the community to join, not just English learners – I’ll be the first to admit that while English is now my first language, I still find myself learning new things about English, whether it’s learning a new word or trying to figure out what the present tense of wrought is (it’s not wring) – and participants of all ages are welcome to attend! It’s a great opportunity to get to know people in the community and learn from one another. So if you enjoy cooking or baking, learning new dishes, and making new friends, join us for this monthly session!
We are looking for new speakers for this program! If you are an ESL learner, or volunteer with the English Conversation Circle, and you’re interested in sharing your cooking or baking with the community, here are the details:
What is involved?
This is done on a volunteer basis, and the speaker would teach one dish of their choosing, which takes approximately 1 hour to cook or make from beginning to end (the program runs for 1h30m in total). Please note that we do not use nuts for our programs, including peanuts and tree nuts. Vaughan Public Libraries supplies the ingredients, so we would need to get a copy of the recipe, including ingredient amounts & how to make the dish, in advance. This is a hands-on program, so participants will make the dish at the same time as the presenter demonstrates the steps.
The next available sessions are:
- Wednesday, October 8, 6:15-7:45pm
- Wednesday, November 5, 6:15-7:45pm
- Wednesday, December 3, 6:15-7:45pm
- If you are interested but not available until the new year, reach out anyway so we can start planning ahead!
Where is this being hosted?
VMC library (200 Apple Mill Rd, 2nd floor, Vaughan, Ontario, L4K 0J8). Please note that there is no free parking at the VMC Library. For information on parking, please review this page. We are located right beside the VMC subway station and are accessible via public transit.
If you are interested, what should you do?
Please fill out our Contact Us form with “Cooking Conversation Circle” in the email and the following information:
- Name
- Phone Number
- Email Address
- What is the dish you would like to share?
- Date of session you are available for, or which month you would like to present in 2026
We will get back to you to schedule a date and time, and work together with you to ensure everything runs smoothly the day of the program! If you’d like to check out our other culinary literacy programs, be sure to take a look at our Events Calendar online, flip to page 19 of the What’s On program guide, and subscribe to the e-newsletter!