By Keira Zhong
Staff Writer
A vast assortment of dishes layout on counters and tables, wafting out various aromas throughout the classroom. The rich smell of chicken quesadillas pours into the air sitting next to servings of fried rice, dumplings, beef udon and the distinct scent of mac and cheese fills the room. Sophomore Naomi Cheng proudly presents her cooked brisket, fresh warm slices sitting perfectly in a row, and sophomore Angelina Chen showcases her soft oatmeal cookies.
French teacher Christine Kenderes assigned her French 2 students a two-week project to showcase a recipe that’s special to them. Students made presentation slides in class prior to preparing the dishes the next weekend. During the next two days, students showed their presentations to the class, displaying a series of slides and photos of the process. Additionally, they included directions in French to strengthen their language skills. Each student shared their own story or the importance behind their dish.
Students presented various dishes, such as chicken quesadillas, kale chips, beef udon, fried rice, dumplings, salad and mac and cheese.
For this project, sophomore Addison Meira baked double chocolate chip cookies, which took roughly two hours to prepare. The recipe represents a connection to her family.
“When I was younger, my mom would often make chocolate chip cookies and so baking these sweet treats helps me feel connected to her and my childhood in general,” Meira said. “Baking and enjoying the cookies is a soothing and comforting experience for me.”
Sophomore Vicky Nguyen prepared mango sticky rice, spending over three hours to make Almost every Sunday she goes out to eat Thai food with her family and gets mango sticky rice for dessert.
“The project was a good opportunity to try making mango sticky rice for the first time and I got to spend a lot of time with my family,” Nguyen said. “All the measuring was pretty difficult because we wanted to get it exact.”
This is the first year Kenderes created this project with dishes and instructions in mind, hoping the students could learn more about their peers.
“I wanted [the students] to learn how to say the steps of cooking like mix and stir using commands in imperative form,” Kenderes said. “With this project, students are able to use the French language, while also learning about the recipes that are important to each other and enjoy trying all the foods.”