Close Connections: Amrita and Kym – when you’re cooking it’s easy to build trust
Amrita Lal and Kym McAdam bonded over a famous Aussie sweet treat after each moved to the UK from Down Under
After meeting at a barbecue for the first time in person in June 2020, Amrita Lal, 31, and Kym McAdam, 34, instantly bonded. After months spent in lockdown, New Zealand expat Amrita was thrilled to spot a home comfort on the table: lamington cake. Fellow expat Kym, from Australia, had baked it using an old family recipe, and it brought back many happy memories for Amrita.
She says, “Back home, whenever I was on school holidays as a kid, I’d go to work with my dad. We’d stop at the bakery on the way and I’d usually pick a chocolate lamington. Seeing Kym’s at the barbecue gave me flashbacks of precious memories with my dad and a welcome slice of home.”
The pair, who’d only previously met online during Zoom quiz nights with mutual friends, realised they got along well in real life, too. “After that, we went for socially distanced walks regularly,” says Amrita. “When lockdown eased, I had a week off work and invited Kym to mine for brunch. She took the day off specially and showed up with a bottle of prosecco. I knew then that we’d be really good friends.”
The duo made an omelette together, improvising with chives and some freshly baked grain bread. “We realised that we’re both such big foodies. Ever since, we’ve been experimenting in the kitchen together, picking up ideas from food magazines, supermarket mailers or just by trying to use up whatever’s left in the fridge.”
Marketing manager Amrita, who moved to the UK for a change of scenery just before the pandemic began, has found the friendship she has with Kym pivotal to her well-being. “I have a big support network at home and am a naturally social person. Not being able to go out to restaurants and socialise at parties like I usually would took its toll. I’d moved to the UK for an adventure, then everything ground to a halt.
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“That’s how Kym and I began having our own two-person dinner parties. It started at the end of one month when we were waiting for pay day and fancied a Chinese takeaway. We felt inspired to replicate a favourite Chinese dish, so we looked up a recipe and made pork egg-fried rice with onion, garlic and broccoli, and were amazed at how well it turned out. We realised we didn’t need to go out to eat great food.”
At a time when there wasn’t much open or safe due to covid-19, Amrita and Kym found solace at home. “Another time, all I had in the freezer was butternut squash. I also had half a bottle of white wine, so we found a recipe neither of had us had tried before – roasted butternut squash risotto. We really took our time making the stock, then slowly pouring it into the mix, one ladle at a time. We added pine nuts and it was so good. The best thing we’d eaten in months.”
The pair made a self-saucing chocolate pudding, too, which led to a three-day cooking marathon. It proved to be a great way for Amrita and Kym to get to know one another on a deeper level. “Some might like sitting and talking with undivided attention, but I’ve realised that when your hands are busy like when you’re cooking, it’s easy to be yourself and build trust with another person naturally.
“We’ve built a friendship over a mutual interest, and it comes with the added bonus of sitting down at the end and enjoying great food together. We both love that moment when you take that first bite and think, ‘Holy cow, that is great!’”
The two friends have been there for each other during important milestones, including when Kym, who works in events, received her British citizenship, and when Amrita’s work sponsor visa was approved.
As the UK reopened, the pair’s friendship moved out of the kitchen and into the wider world – they shared trips to Snowdonia, hit the gym together and walked through London’s parks. Their bond brought them both courage. “During one walk, we spotted a group doing a silent disco on the local common. I wanted to try it, but Kym didn’t. I convinced her, and we both had so much fun.
“We push each other to do stuff. Getting to know Kym has brought so much sunshine to my life, and if it hadn’t have been for our shared love of cooking, it might never have happened.”
Make Amrita and Kym’s roast garlic and butternut squash risotto.
This feature originally appeared in Good Food Magazine, April 2022.
