Culinary Explorations

Inside the Lora M. Robins Theatre, Lower Schoolers wiggle in their seats, excitedly waiting for a special guest to go onstage. They’ve spent several weeks reading author Pat Tanumihardja’s books, and now they’re going to meet her in person. When Ms. Tanumihardja is introduced by Lower School Librarian Carlee Cutchin, the students erupt into cheers. “It was as though they were meeting a superhero!” said Ms. Cutchin afterward. 

Ms. Tanumihardja, the author of “Ramen for Everyone” and “Jimmy’s Shoes,” as well as four cookbooks, grew up in Singapore and has had a lifelong love for writing, cooking … and eating! Pointing to photos on a giant screen, she talked about her favorite foods, including a spikey fruit called a durian (“It smells like stinky socks!” she exclaimed, to the students’ amusement) and the “auspicious meanings” — wealth, abundance, and luck — behind the colors, shapes, and names of traditional Asian foods.

“A whole chicken is eaten in celebration of the Lunar New Year [which fell this year on February 10],” she told students. “Normally, we eat small amounts of these foods, but a whole chicken is celebratory and represents abundance.” The round shape of Lion’s Head Meatballs, she added, symbolizes wealth. “Orange is a lucky color,” she noted, pointing to photos of plump, brilliantly colored sweet potato dumplings. “And … you know what?” she asked, pausing dramatically. “We like to eat noodles that are TWO … FEET… LONG!” When Ms. Tanumihardja quizzed the students (“What are some foods and colors that are lucky?”), they called out happily, “Watermelon seeds!” and “Red!” She capped off her Lower School visit with a Q&A, followed by a reading of “Ramen for Everyone,” which tells the story of a young boy who dreams of making a perfect bowl of ramen.

Ms. Cutchin said, “Lower Schoolers love checking out cookbooks. They love ‘Ramen for Everyone’ because it combines a story and a recipe. The protagonist, Hiro, does not cook ramen perfectly, but he adjusts the recipe and keeps trying, which is a concept that every student can relate to!”

Earlier in the day, Ms. Tanumihardja spent time with Middle Schoolers in the Bryan Innovation Lab kitchen, where she shared her career highlights and her love of Asian cooking.

On the kitchen’s vast stainless counter was a copy of her cookbook, “Asian Pickles at Home” and the ingredients to make homemade dumplings: ground meats, spring onions, cabbage, garlic, wonton wrappers, sesame oil, honey, and black pepper. Soon, the Middle Schoolers gathered around the counter and began assembling doughy pockets of deliciousness. 

Like all Spartans, Middle Schoolers thrive from hands-on learning, and through making connections between what they learn in the classroom and what they experience. Middle School Social Studies Teacher Craig Redmond-Cilley said, “We recently finished our unit on Ancient China. We did a lesson in which we examined food from different regions of China by watching a food/travel documentary. Some of the foods mentioned in Pat’s presentation connected with what students had seen in my class. Making dumplings not only deepened students’ learning; it expanded their palates!”

Samantha Preston ’30 loved creating dumplings. 

“It was interesting to learn about and do the different types of folds,” she said. “It was a powerful experience to cook alongside an author and be able to share that with my classmates and friends.”

Ty Nguyen ’30 enjoyed learning about the Chinese New Year because “I got to see the differences between the Vietnamese New Year and the Chinese New Year. It felt nice to cook dumplings with my classmates and Ms. Tanumihardja. It was great to try something new.”

View the Steward Snaps of the Lower School and Middle School author visit.