The Erasmus+ programme is a European Union initiative that provides support to cooperation projects in the fields of education, training, youth and sport. Their goals include improving the level of competencies and skills of young people; levelling the playing field in terms of opportunities in democracy, the labour market, intercultural dialogue, social inclusion and solidarity; fostering quality improvements in youth work; and complementary policy reforms at local, regional and national levels. Just to name a few. The Youth@Work conference was part of the Youth@Work Partnership, and it took place in Mersin, an agricultural and educational hub in southern Turkey in December 2019. Cooked Illustrations was selected to participate as a delegate; a welcomed surprise that we later learned was part of an effort to diversify away from the youth work and education sectors, by injecting entrepreneurial voices from the grassroots. And so, our founder Ian Cooke-Tapia set out from Cardiff to Mersin, via two trains, two flights and one bus ride straight to this seaside city where Turkish tea was tasted for the first time.