COMMUNITY kitchen run by female migrants is providing a world-food delivery service to residents of Bournemouth and Poole.

Julia Shapp, 48, started Julia's World Kitchen, a community project, in January after volunteering at local charity International Care Network, where she met women from various countries.

They bonded over their love of cooking and sharing cultural dishes and recipes. The community group helps local women come together and make friends with other migrants in the area.

She said: ''Bournemouth is very diverse. It's an interesting, colourful place, but it's not really a melting pot.

"I've met women who've been here for 20 years, and they still don't really have many English friends, or they're not part of that community.''

Julia is originally from Canada and has a Ukrainian family, and is a self-described 'foodie'. She discovered that the group was a great way for her to share her own dishes, as well as learn about cuisine from other countries.

This gave Julia the idea to launch her own supper club in her kitchen, which has since grown into a local food delivery service.

''Our ethos is to cook delicious food, using traditional recipes from all around the world, and in the process empower local migrant women", she said.

The idea for the business, was to give migrant women the chance to 'share food to the community.'

Each week's menu is inspired by a different country, and so the woman from that country prepares that week's dishes.

The cooking team consists of various nationalities ranging from Ecuador to Bangladesh and Ukraine.

Many of the migrant women struggle to find work, so Julia's World Kitchen helps women to gain work experience as well as sharing their love of cooking.

She said: ''They can get some work experience. They can cook. They might even get their food hygiene one certificate after a few times.''

'Some women come from very difficult traumatic situations.

"Some can't read or write, some come from religious circumstances. But one thing they can do is cook.''

To find out more about Julia's World Kitchen visit: www.juliasworldkitchen.com