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| If you really, really love food, you'll love this book. But even if you can't and don't want to cook, we promise it will be a good read. |
One of the projects we’ve been involved with over the
last twelve months is the Vet Cook Book. This week we can announce that we have
partnered with a publisher, the Centre for Veterinary Education (CVE).
It’s huge news as this project is a biggy, and these
things don’t get done without serious work. Over 100 contributors from around
the world have submitted recipes, stories, photos and mental health tips to the
Vet Cook Book.
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| We've included Dr Magdoline Awad's mum's falafel recipe... |
Nothing like this has been attempted before.
Deepa Gopinath, Asti May, Jenna Moss Davis and myself
have been working hard testing recipes, editing recipes (you’d be surprised how
easy it is to confuse teaspoon with tablespoon, and how that can make a good
recipe go South, especially when baking which I learned involves precise
measuring), tasting, jostling would-be contributors, chasing up recipe I-O-Us,
and sourcing the odd exotic ingredient. There have been excursions to
supermarkets, the acquisition of appliances, the use of the aforementioned, and
many dishes done.
But we can only do so much. So it is AMAZING to get (more
than) a little help from our friends. The CVE are big supporters of the
veterinary profession, through a variety of high quality continuing education
events, distance education programs as well as publications such as Control and
Therapy. They are just as concerned about the mental health issues impacting
the veterinary profession, and are keen to promote collegiality.
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| Dr Mike Woodham, founder of the veterinary orchestra, has contributed a recipe and a discussion about music and its connection to mental health. |
What’s left to do?
- Final editing.
- Design & Layout.
- Printing.
- Distribution.
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| A number of students contributed, including Sharmila the DVM student who submitted two mind-blowingly delicious recipes. |
You guys run to your mailbox or pick up a book from a
pre-arranged site, hold it in your hands, read it and think “wow”.
You cook something.
You invite someone over to share it.
You talk. You laugh. You cry. You plan another get together and look forward to it.
You make something and take it to work to share with
colleagues. They smile.
You leave a copy in the staff room and someone,
somewhere, reads a mental health tip that resonates with them and adopts it
into their life. Or they might skip everything, head straight to the resource page, and contact one of a large number of organisations offering assistance.
Its a not-for-profit project that we hope makes a real difference.
The plan is for a release towards the end of the year, in
time for Christmas. We’re currently compiling a list of those interested in purchasing
a copy or more, so if you are interested please email us with your name,
contact details and the number of copies you think you might want. In the
meantime, we have a little more work to do. Thank you for the support!
