Acts of kindness: Cooking school puts unused stock to good use

A sweet and selfless donation from a Brisbane chef is providing some delicious relief from coronavirus chaos for Brisbane’s emergency health workers.

SWEET in both taste and sentiment, a Brisbane chef’s selfless donation is providing some edible relief from coronavirus chaos for Brisbane’s emergency staff.

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Melanie Alafaci’s cooking school Vanilla Zulu was forced to close its doors this week, as the coronavirus threat intensified in Queensland.

“We were trading as normal and we placed all the delivery orders for the week, then we realise that we’d have to close,” Mrs Alafaci said.

Melanie Alafaci, the Executive Chef/Owner Vanilla Zulu, preparing her signature panna cotta. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Instead of wallowing her personal plight, Mrs Alafaci decided to share her stock and her thanks – whipping up a batch of her signature panna cotta that was delivered directly to the staff at the Mater hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

“We had to make a happy situation out of a really crappy one,” Mrs Alafaci said.

“The doctors and the nurses and all sorts were able to enjoy them, and that’s the least we could do.”

A delivery of Panna Cotta embraced by the Mater ICU staff. Picture: Supplied

“I thought they needed a bit of something to lighten up their day … I knew dessert would work.”

On behalf of Vanilla Zulu, 50 jars of panna cotta were delivered to Mater ICU – and Mrs Alafaci’s planning a similar delivery next week.

“I know that on a normal day these girls have horror stories of this and that,” she said.

“They really care about us.”

Vanilla Zulu will also be launching online cooking videos and workshops – helping the community to cook luxury in isolation.

“Food is a mood enhancer,” Mrs Alafaci said.

“The one thing that is nice about isolation is it’s a chance for families to come together, to cook and enjoy something divine.”