Yet another club has been added to the list of the many available at CCHS, the latest addition being Culinary Club. Founded by senior Lara Gurdikyan, Culinary Club aims to provide a community to CCHS students that are interested in cooking, baking or learning about different cultures through the foods they eat.
Culinary Club meets after school on Tuesdays. Club meetings typically begin with the members sitting around in a circle, sprawled out on bean bags for an opening discussion. New members, if any, introduce themselves to the rest of the club and tell an interesting fact about themselves.
After this, Lara Gurdikyan introduces the “meal of the day” and goes over the recipe for that meal, which is then followed by the members carefully following any safety procedures they must complete before cooking the meal.
With there being so many different cultures around the globe, one can be certain that there is a food somewhere in the world that they haven’t eaten yet. Culinary Club plans to cover as many different types of food as they can, while still making sure the dish isn’t too difficult or expensive to make.
“I think anyone interested in learning about the world should join Culinary Club,” treasurer Mateo Smashey said. “We love to study and learn about the different cuisines from around the world to get a better sense of the world and culture around us.”
“We cook together, eat together and learn stuff so this club is like a little family for us.”
Lara Gurdikyan started Culinary Club because she aspires to be a chef, which is a dream she’s harbored since her younger years. When she discovered that there was no Culinary Club at CCHS, she decided to take matters into her own hands and start one of her own.
“I remember when I was five years old, I would go downstairs to the kitchen when my father was cooking food, following the smell and the noise of his friends’ laughter,” Lara Gurdikyan said. “This was my favorite time of the day, and it got to the point where my babysitters would chase me when I tried to go downstairs. When I got [to the kitchen], my parents would usually stop the babysitters and let me join them.”
Lara Gurdikyan and her sisters, Alin and Selin, moved to Cooper City from Turkey at the beginning of 2017-2018 school year. Since then, the triplets have joined the volleyball team and are adjusting to life in South Florida. The cultures of Turkey and the U.S. are vastly different, from the building structures to the dinner table.
“In [Turkish] culture, you can’t buy any fast food,” secretary Alin Gurdikyan said. “If you buy it and you serve your family, you’ve basically shamed the family. Every week, people invite their friends and family to their homes and cook for them. Cooking is very important to Turkish families.”
Being that the club is still new, Culinary Club doesn’t yet have any major activities or plans to carry out this year. Currently, they are focused on attracting new members and spreading the word about their club.
“So many people don’t know this club exists, so we hope that if we keep doing this and having fun while cooking, people will notice and join us,” Alin Gurdikyan said. “We cook together, eat together and learn stuff so this club is like a little family for us.”
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