JAYWICK’S Martello Tower was filled with Chinese culture as it held a dumpling-making workshop.

The venue hosted a free session to teach budding cooks how to make the traditional Chinese delicacies.

Dumplings have been a tasty treat for thousands of years and are popular food for families around the time of Chinese New Year.

Colchester Chinese Culture Society chairman Simone Xue and assistant Jennifer Jiang led the workshop which was attended by 15 people.

Simone said: “Dumplings are a traditional Chinese festival food, but we taught people how to make them for any time of the year.

“We made dumplings with shredded vegetables before pan-frying them – sort of like a miniature pasty.

“I think the workshop went very well. Everyone enjoyed it and the people were so friendly.

“Everyone had enough dumplings to take home for their friends and neighbours as well.”

She added: “The Martello Tower is such a good venue and we’re hoping to run events like this in the future.”

The workshop was run by Creative Net, which stages free workshops at the Martello Tower once a month. The venue’s cultural projects manager, Kerith Ririe, said the workshops are a great chance for people to try new activities.

She said: “We’ve been running these types of sessions for seven years.

“It’s good for people who want to try something new and this means that people can do it for free.

“It’s also a good chance for people to get involved with members of the community.”

To find out more about Creative Net events visit tendringdc.gov.uk.