Our Farewell Shared Lunch

On Wednesday 12th of August, 2015 a number of our Year 3-6 ESOL students came together to farewell two of their friends and wish them well in their new home and school. It was an opportune time to celebrate cultural diversity within our ESOL community and sample different ethnic foods in the form of a shared lunch. We thank the wonderful parents for their contribution of food, and to those who also found the time to come in and join us. Some students have reflected on the different dishes they sampled and how they felt on the day. "Yah," I thought. "It's good that mum has made Kokis. They are a fried sweet treat made in Sri Lanka. You can find the recipe and instructions on Utube. I really liked the sushi. I found the rice pudding (Kheer) a little strange. I was really happy that we could try foods from different countries. It was great that we were able to get together for lunch. Reflection by Nethasa (Year 4) At the shared lunch, I thought that I would try the sushi. It tasted a bit different. It was reasonably spicy and sweet. I liked the chicken in it the most. The seaweed had an unusual flavour. I kind of liked the sweet rice pudding. One thing I didn't like about the Kheer were the nuts. I am not used to having nuts in rice. Kheer is a very popular rice pudding in Nepal and India. Reflection by Ron (Year 4) I was so happy that my dad was a chef because he made some really yummy Indian food for us to taste. At the shared lunch I saw lots of scrumptious food like; Pecora, Samosa and Sushi. When we tasted the food we found it interesting. I don't really like the tumeric flavour but I did love the Samosa and Pecora. It was great that mum and dad came to share lunch with the ESOL children. Reflection by Vianca (Year 4) On Wednesday the 12th of August we had a shared lunch. It was great that my brother could come too. Friends and families each cooked something to bring. At the shared lunch there were many delicious dishes. Yum! I tried Briyani and Reza tried Sushi and Kokis. He ate many other dishes as well because he hadn't tried them before. I found the Sushi quite different because I hadn't eaten it before.

Comparing and Contrasting Foods

When children come to New Zealand from different corners of the planet, they bring with them a rich knowledge of the foods that they have begun to know as quite specific to their cultural group. Many children brought up in New Zealand are unaware of the reasons for food preferences across religions and cultures. The food pyramid was used in order to get the students to consider which foods were included in their own diet and which were normally omitted. It was reassuring to note that across cultures, children enjoyed a number of fruit varieties and grains. Meat and fish consumption was very dependent on historical and family beliefs as was dairy. Vegetables were popular with most children and easily identified. Then onto learning how to combine good foods into one meal. The children compared and contrasted fruit smoothies and mango lassi. Here are some of the photos taken during the making process. The Results: Banana smoothies were very popular as were strawberry combined with banana. The children thought that they were better than the McDonalds shakes. Mango Lassi was not as popular with 50% of the group who taste tested. They did not have an acquired taste for mango and thought that the yogurt was too strong. They thought that this drink was not like a smoothie or milkshake. The positive outcome was that they had tried a drink that is popular on an Indian menu. They also learned that Indian people use yogurt as a cooling agent.