As the door opens to room 608, musky plumes of warm spices waft out, hinting at the distinctively sweet smell of saffron. Tenderly glazed with olive oil and showered with herbs, an array of meats and onions wrapped around wooden skewers known as koobideh lie beside a bed of basmati rice for serving the members of the Food Appreciation Club. 

Food Appreciation Club housed its first meeting of the new year on Jan. 7, featuring Persian food as its theme. Senior Shawyan Rooein spoke at the lunch meeting, introducing a brief overview of his connection to Persian food through his Iranian family. 

Every two to three weeks, the Food Appreciation Club aims to introduce a new speaker from a different culture. With funding from the club members, speakers will either cook or purchase two-to-three dishes of their choice and present on their culture and its food while students listen and eat. 

“[The Food Appreciation Club is] trying to promote cultural awareness, so bringing light to different cultures through their food. I think that is the most significant part of their club and something that everyone can appreciate and everyone can connect over,” club adviser and social studies teacher Natasha Schottland said. “For example, we just had a presentation on Shawyan’s Iranian culture. Iran’s in the news right now, so that can always lead to discussions later on, and I think that food is a great segue to do that.” 

Club president and senior Kameran Mody said his inspiration for starting the club mainly comes from his mother, who creates a wide variety of cultural foods and values the process of learning about cultures through food. 

“I have a really diverse friend group, and I know a lot of people who haven’t tried different foods from different cultures because they’re not exposed to that, or they’re not willing to try it,” Mody said. “But through our club, we’ll be able to make that avenue easier for them.”