Food was the way to the hearts of the 100 Jews, Muslims and Christians who shared their respective cuisines at a tasting involving Luton Synagogue, two churches and a mosque from the Leagrave area.

The event — the first in a series financed by a grant from the Church Urban Fund’s Near Neighbours Project — began with the sounding of a shofar and a helping of chicken soup. A honey cake-making demonstration followed before a sampling of cuisines from the non-Jewish participants, including spicy pakoras and Harvest supper dishes.

Synagogue chair Brian Green told guests: “Food is the foundation block of our respective faiths and through food we will come together to celebrate and respect each other’s festivities.” A visiting German pastor from Luton’s twin town of Berlin-Spandau observed that it was “such a simple and effective way to bring people of different faiths together that I am going to copy it”.