As part of Hounslow Council's Summer of Culture, 12 artists lead by illustrator Fatima Zahra Hassan got together with Hounslow Creative People and Places (CPP) at the TW3 Space outside the Treaty Shopping Centre in Hounslow on Sunday 19 June to deliver free workshops for children and families and collect recipes for a new book which will be published and sold with all proceeds going to food banks in Hounslow .

In addition, there were storytelling sessions by children's author Soni Zuberi Shah to celebrate the launch of her illustrated children's book 101 Dishes for The Emperor. The story is based on a tale from 16th century India about a little boy who dares to invite the Emperor to dinner. At its heart, it is a tale of sharing, community, and good food. The story is inspired by an old family tale passed down through Soni Zuberi Shah's family, as told by her father.

To help bring alive the story's message of sharing, community, and food, recipes were collected from the public for the '101 Dishes for Hounslow Community Recipe Project'. Hounslow residents are encouraged to submit a favourite recipe for inclusion in a community recipe book which will be published and sold with all proceeds going to food banks in Hounslow. They need as many recipes as possible and everyone is invited to submit their recipes on www.101dishes.co.uk. The project is being supported by London Borough of Hounslow as part of their Summer of Culture celebrations.

Lucy Thurley of Hounslow CPP said of the event, 'It was a fantastic turnout and we had engagement with over 400 people during the afternoon!'

Soni added, 'It gave us the opportunity to showcase our story and characters from 16th century Mughal India, sharing common values of strong community and the love of good food!'

The art exhibition of the picture book is on at Watermans Arts Centre until 26th June.