Monmouth’s Study Abroad Club, International Club, and Italian Club partnered with Gourmet Dinning to host an Italian Cooking Class for students this past Friday, Nov, 15, 2024, in the dining hall. Elizabeth Maricic, Global Education Senior Study Abroad Advisor, said, “All attendees got the chance to learn how to make classic Italian meatballs, ‘Sunday sauce’ with pasta, and cannolis from Gourmet Dining’s Chefs.
Students traveled around the dining hall in four stations- three to make each dish, and one station for ‘Italian culture & study abroad.’ There, students could talk with former study abroad students to hear about their experiences, meet members of the Italian and International Club, and win some awesome prizes (like aprons, cooking supplies and water bottles). The class was organized to be a hands-on learning experience for attendees.
Jennifer Araneo, Gourmet Dining Marketing Manager said, “Chief Steve demonstrated and guided the students, but we had all the ingredients for them to be able to season, mix, and roll out the meatballs themselves. from there our chef took them in the back to bake in the ovens. Chef Steve had sauces and pastas already prepared so once the meatballs were done student can put together their own meal. As for the cannolis, we had the shells prepared so students could fill them with the cannolis cream.”
Marcic explained that the event was open to Monmouth students, but there were only 50 spots available so students had to register beforehand. The event was completely full and had a waitlist.
The event stemmed from Gillian Destefano, senior comunication student, Lead Global Education Mentor, and Vice President of the Italian Club. Destefano said, “The inspiration for the Italian cooking night event ca,e from my experience abroad in Sorrento. At our study abroad school, Sant’Anna Institute, we frequently had free cooking classes with local businesses. The event were always very well attended and fun for students.”
Olivia Crocco, Itallian Club President, added, “It was a little bit of a struggle to get ideas of the ground. We want to really built the Monmouth University Itallian club and create a great sense of community, not just for Italian-American students, but for everybody, and kind of show the Italian culture and language to the Monmouth campus.”
Many students who attended the event had positive feedback. One attendee of the event, Lauren Hoogervorst, junior social work major, said, “This event was a great way to bring people together through eating and making food, just as the Italians love to do. We got to talk about study abroad and Italy. It really brought some life, some love, some family, and some good yummy cuisine to the dining hall.”
Another attendee, Tim Pakrad, a senior English major, said, ” I had so much fun at the Italian cooking class. It was a fun opportunity, especially as someone who doesn’t have a meal plan at Monmouth anymore. I felt so involved in the community, which is such a refreshing and amazing feeling.”
Students and faculty involved in the program seemed to express genuine enthusiasm and anticipation. When asked If Global Education will be hosting similar events in the future, Maricic said, “We definitely hope so… We’re open to any and all cultures, but it would be great to do one that relates to either our study abroad programs or our International Student population. Indian cuisine? Swedish delicacies? There are so many tasty options.”
