Quarantine Kitchen Stories is a collaborative project based in the Montreal South-West connecting Point-Saint-Charles community hub Bâtiment 7 to the work of the food business incubator of the Little Burgundy-based DESTA Black Youth Network, which delivers free food to families, sourced exclusively from black-owned restaurants, stores, community gardens, and farms.

Quarantine Kitchen Stories will consist of a series of 5 online workshops facilitated by community organizers and chefs involved with DESTA. The workshops will provide an opportunity for the general public to come together and learn about recipes and other food production techniques. The workshop series draws direct inspiration from mutual aid frameworks in recognizing the frequently unrecognized role of food and cooking in community organizing, and the extent to which the role of nourishing tends to be a necessary, but the undervalued role, frequently held by women. Participants will have the opportunity to hear the stories of community organizing that highlight the value of nurturing and collective caring work. This initiative will benefit from the ongoing support of Batiment 7-based food security initiatives; through this collaboration, chefs and organizers at DESTA will be able to access Batiment 7 kitchen space.