KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — Homemade sugee cake in exchange for your mother's prized Nyonya acar? That is all possible with the inaugural Food Swap on August 24. The first of its kind event is organised by Food Bites, the people behind the gourmet food markets held last year at Jaya One in Petaling Jaya.
In recent times, food swap gatherings are fast gaining popularity in America and the United Kingdom. These events bring together food lovers to barter homecooked items or even homegrown produce as currency.
For this Food Swap, you need to follow the simple rule of no shopping as everything traded must be homecooked. You can also bring an edible item foraged from your garden, so harvest your roselle bush.
All the food bartered must be halal and properly sealed in packages. Participants are encouraged to be innovative with their creations to make it appealing for the swap.
Food swapping is not new. In the old days, our mothers would exchange food with close neighbours, creating a close-knit community. Nowadays the busy rat race means that most of us don't even know who our neighbours are.
Food Bites creator Jenifer Kuah hopes that the event will connect like-minded individuals with one common goal to share their food, recipes or stories about their proud creations.
In the future, Kuah, who is also a mother, hopes to conduct an event targeted towards busy mothers who are seeking a diverse menu for their children without creating food wastage.
During the two-hour event, attendees will need to display their wares and identify each of the items with a list of its ingredients. Interested parties can directly trade for a pot of homemade kaya or even pineapple tarts by registering their interest on a card at the table. The actual swapping takes place during the last 30 minutes as people scramble to do the exchange.
This is the first of many food events that Food Bites will be running prior to their Foodie Fest to be held this November. With these events, Kuah hopes to build a community of like-minded food lovers.
The Food Swap will be held on August 24 from 10.30am at Food Foundry. For more information and to register your interest, contact [email protected] or visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FoodBitesPJ.
