A Taste of Wetaskiwin Composite High School
The diverse student population at Wetaskiwin Composite High School is something to celebrate. The population reflects the nature of the Wetaskiwin community with students from a variety of ethnic backgrounds…some Canadian citizens, some not.
Wetaskiwin Composite High School also has an active Student Council that plans dozens of activities for the student body to partake in over the span of the school year. The Executive Team, which consists of Co-Presidents at the grade 12 level, Co-Vice Presidents at the grade 11 level, several Communication People and an Operations Person and Room Reps were brainstorming ideas looking for an activity that could celebrate the variety of ethnic backgrounds of our school population. The mention of how much people enjoyed “The Taste of Edmonton” over the summer set the wheels in motion….
Selling food to 700 people is a serious venture, and to meet the requirements of Alberta Food Safety standards, much had to be considered. The students spoke the expert, the Foods Teacher, Mrs. Johnson, and she offered to help students research the ethnic foods. Students suggested recipes and prepared the assortment of foods that would be sold.
On the day of event, the cafeteria was buzzing with activity. Tables were set up displaying the variety of “tastes” to be had, and the crowd needed no prompting to explore the diverse foods.
Based on the suggestions of our students, the following menu was created.
Ukrainian- Pyrogy
Japanese- Sushi
French- Crepes
Philippine- Chocolate Crinkles
Maskwacis First Nation- Bannock Bites
Sweden- Swedish Flatbread
German- Pretzels
Lebanese- Fatayer
Nigerian- Puff Puffs
Swiss- Kase Luchen
Dutch- Kroketten
Chinese- Green Onion Cakes
The Japanese Sushi was made and donated to us by our local Seoul Restaurant. They learned of the event through a student on Council who has a Work Experience Placement at the restaurant. The Lebanese fatayer was made by a parent of another Council member in a professionalk kitchen owned by that family. All the other dishes were made by students in Mrs. Johnson’s Foods 30 class.
The school’s participation of this event was incredible. In forty minutes we raised $752.00, all of which was donated to support economic development in Third World Countries. The positive feedback about this event has encouraged Student Council to make this as annual event. So, this March 16th will be our second annual Taste of WCHS, with Mrs. Johnson’s foods classes researching recipes and the various ethnic backgrounds of the students who attend WCHS. It will continue to be a delicious and educational way to explore the cultures we enjoy in our school and community.
A Taste of Wetaskiwin Composite High School
Photos of event.
