During the fall semester, Dr. Chiara De Santi of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, has taught an Honors Seminar on Italian Food Culture in Practice.
Fifteen Honors students are going through a true cultural and gastronomic experience: while learning about Italian food culture since the Middle Ages, they actually cook the meals they are learning about. Dr. De Santi believes that food is a sensory and cultural experience that can be learned and appreciated in a classroom setting. For the students, the course is an educational journey during which they also learn some skills on how to cook healthy meals both on and off campus.
Throughout the semester, Director of Dining Services/Corporate Chef Dean Messina has been a frequent guest of the course, while two students from the Department of Communication also participate in it as interns: one maintains a website and social media presence, while the other student produces videos of the classes.
Guests from the local community and from the Fredonia faculty have joined the students in their journey in the Italian history through gastronomy.
A website showcases the class’ learning experience: https://italianfoodcultureblog.wordpress.com/ Information is also on Instagram and Twitter.The course is on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freditalianfood/ And Twitter: https://twitter.com/FredItalianFood.
