Millbrook's Annual World Culture & Food Festival
Millbrook students and faculty hosted another successful World Culture & Food Festival on April 29th. Students and faculty worked with Co-International Student Coordinators Eleni Stefanopoulos '92 and Luke Westman to prepare foods representative of various countries for the Millbrook community to enjoy.
Students and faculty began planning for the event in March, and all students were invited to share food from their home region or a country that they are passionate about. Together they organized trips to speciality grocers, as well as timelines for where and when to prepare the food.
"I believe that food is the best way to express the Cambodian culture," said Apirith Sothea '19 who spent four hours preparing traditional dishes from his home country. "I prepared both Amok, a main course fish dish, and Nom Ko, a dessert made of rice flour and milk."
Like Sothea '19, students put great thought and care into their dishes, and the community enjoyed traditional homemade foods representative of many countries, including Greece, Russia, Italy, and Guatemala. Students also enjoyed salsa dance instruction during the event.
“Millbrook School is very wealthy in its diversity of students,” said World Language Department faculty member and International Student Co-Coordinator Eleni Stefanopoulos '92. “Events like the International Food Festival, allow the Millbrook community to become more aware of the cultural diversity that exists on campus, and I hope it encourages us all to embrace the uniqueness that each member of the school brings.”
The World Culture & Food Festival is one of many events, forums, and conferences that students and faculty have participated in to explore what diversity means at Millbrook and beyond.
Events, forums, and conferences offer opportunities for thoughtful discussions around complex topics like diversity. In these settings students and faculty share, connect, and reflect, which informs their actions on and off campus, ultimately empowering them to better our immediate community and the larger world. Please visit our photo gallery for images from the World Culture & Food Festival.
