WHEN YOU'RE COOKING IT'S EASY TO BUILD TRUST

Amrita Lal and Kym McAdam bonded over a famous Aussie sweet treat after each moving to the UK from Down Under

- PUNTEHA VAN TERHEYDEN

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 that 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. 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 is 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 has been 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 had ground to a halt.