Which international cuisine is your favourite?

This week a new TV show named “Plate of Origin” was aired. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I have a passion for cooking and if I were not a teacher, I would have become a chef. Plate of Origin sees teams of two contestants representing their country of origin compete against each other cooking a classic main dish and dessert. Last night, the Australian team cooked meat and three veg and a classic vanilla custard slice. Their competition, the Chinese team, cooked a duck with Biang Biang noodles and a black sesame mousse with tofu ice cream. If I were on the show representing either the Dutch or the Indonesian teams, what would my choices be to impress the judges? In cooking, cuisine is a very personal matter and what might be delicious for one is not for another. My choice would be to head for the Indonesian flavours so here is my choice. For main course I would cook chicken and beef satays with Gado Gado (steamed vegetables) and peanut sauce served with white rice and Tempe Goreng with sambal (fried soya bean with chilli) and for dessert a Pisang Goreng (banana fritter) with vanilla/coconut ice cream. I’ll let you decide what you think of my choices – I hope you like them. My challenge may be to showcase this in a Home Economics lesson.

This week at Cardijn, we celebrate Multicultural Week (postponed from earlier this year due to COVID-19) when we recognise the richness of our community and the many cultures that make up Australia. This week provides an opportunity to discover and share our love for many cultures which generally means sharing international cuisines, language and international activities involving art, music and dance. At Cardijn we have 73 different nationalities which make up our student population and families. What an amazing gift for all of us to celebrate and recognise! As a Catholic school, we value our inclusiveness of all people regardless of nationality, religion or economic circumstance. We celebrate that we are a welcoming school and strive for every member of the community to feel that they belong and can participate in the fullness of our daily lives.

Last Sunday the Catholic Church acknowledged and launched Social Justice Sunday and a statement with the theme “To Live Life to the Full: Mental Health in Australia Today”. The statement follows on from the theme of my last blogs in terms of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on our mental health due to the physical, social, political and economic circumstances we experience at this time. The test of our community commitment to the common good is our resolve that we care for all people who are most vulnerable or disadvantaged. Our strength comes from our cohesion as a nation and our preparedness to work together. #Together

Social Justice Statement 2020-2021