During my time in Rome studying abroad through a faculty-led trip with the C&IS college, we had the opportunity to take a cooking class. Now this wasn’t just your average cooking class, this was taught by a Michelin star chef who was extremely charismatic and insightful. During our cooking class, we learned how to make Bruschetta with a homemade fried pizza base, pasta, ragu sauce and tiramisu. We made everything from scratch, and through this, me and my classmates realized just how fun and rewarding it is to make something fresh and share it with each other. One lesson we were taught is the importance of togetherness through cooking and sharing meals with others, and how much you can learn from others through conversation over a great dish. It was always a dream of mine to take a cooking class in Italy and I am so glad that this dream came true, and not only did it come true but it only inspired me more for my love of cooking. The chef was born and raised in Rome, but to my surprise, his wife was from the same area as I back in the U.S. This connection of a shared place just demonstrated what a small world we live in and how much we have in common. Coming home, I have brought that passion of people with me to make meals together and sit down and not just enjoy the food you made but the people you made it with.
