CHEFS from the Kitchen of Hope provided invited guests with a banquet of food from across the globe to mark 100 years of the city of Portsmouth. 

Hundreds of community groups, faith leaders and city organisations gathered in the nave of St Mary's Church in Fratton Road for this special celebration. The three-course Portsmouth 100 Centenary Celebration Banquet included South Asian samosas, Jamaican jerk chicken, Afgan beef karahi and rice, Southern African coconut beans and Lebanese green salad. 

The special celebration was organised by Portsmouth City of Sanctuary, the award-winning charity that supports displaced people who are sent to live in Portsmouth, Gosport and surrounding areas. 

It has run drop-ins in several CofE churches within our city to offer physical support, legal advocacy and a sense of community. And its Kitchen of Hope project allows refugees and asylum seekers to use their cooking skills to help others.

Bishop Jonathan, who said grace before the meal, said: "We are gathered here as people of all faiths and none, as a community of communities. And what unites us is our shared sense of community within this city that we love."

Between the three courses, a group from Playland Artswork performed an immersive piece of drama that helped to describe the city's journey from 1926 through the Second World War and the Falklands War to today. Young creatives had also put together an audio-visual journey through the past 100 years. It ended with guests singing Happy Birthday to the city.

And drawings from Arundel Court Primary Academy pupils helped guests to imagine what food, clothes and technology might look like over the next 100 years.