Cooking at NoRooz

NoRooz was an event held on March 24, 2018, celebrating the Persian new year as well as Afghanistan's rich culture and history by asking several Afghani refugee families to prepare traditional meals from their home country for the students and faculty of UC Riverside. The event was centered around the cooking and cultural heritage of the chef Friba Dawar, as well as the release of Frida’s new cookbook “Taste of Afghanistan”. Some of the food that was made was Kofta, Samosas, Kabuli Palaw, and Burani. The families were more than happy to share how they prepared the meals that they presented, with the students, as well as the stories of their struggles and the hardships they had to face in their home country. The poems of two of the refugees, Husna Sadat and Hosai Dawar, who spoke of the love they had for their families, and the pain they have had to endure in their lives, were particularly moving. This event taught the UCR community about the Afghani culture, and brought to light the hardships that many of these families have had to face. It gave an opportunity for the Afghani families to pick fruit from one of UCR’s many orchards, and even provided a workshop for some of the children to make their own slime, put together by the CNAS Science Ambassadors Program. The event closed off with the giving of kitchen supplies and gift cards to each of the Afghani families that helped make the food. It was truly a special event that Highlander Chefs was more than happy to be a part of, we were glad to help out in giving Friba Dawar and her friends and family, a chance to share their culture, and their stories. This event was held through a collaborative effort between the UCR Highlander Chefs, UC Global Food Initiative, the non profit Glocally Connected, the UCR Healthy Campus Initiative, the UCR R’Garden, and the efforts of the UCR CNAS Science Ambassadors.