Written by Quinn Trahant|

Last Monday, March 26th, Spanish 1 classes at The Morgan School got a wonderful visit. In the midst of learning about Spanish cultures and their respective foods, along with vocab having to do with restaurants and menus, they got to try some traditional meals.

Mari Lee, a chef at a local restaurant called Chow, took some time out of her day to share some of her delicious recipes. What she prepared was not just any regular food, however. Lee was able to bring traditional, authentic Mexican cuisines to the class and the kids loved it. Mari made tasty flautas de pollo(chicken wrapped in tortillas), fajitas de carne(steak served in a tortilla with chutney), arroz(seasoned rice), and frijoles borracho(slow-cooked pinto beans with bacon). Spanish teacher Laura Martino does not eat meat, so Mari also cooked a vegetariano estricto(fire roasted vegetables). Along with the main dishes and appetizers, Chef Mari brought in some freshly made guacamole, pico de gallo, and a sangria drink, which was like a mixture of ginger ale and cranberry juice. For dessert, the students were treated with churros.

The food wasn’t the only component to having chef Mari come in. Students were learning how to say phrases in Spanish having to do with ordering food. This includes sentences like ‘para el plato principal, me gustaria pedir’, which means ‘for the main meal, I would like to have (insert a main course food). Another phrase ‘para el postre, me gustaria quisiera’, translates to ‘for dessert, I would like:(insert a dessert). Learning vocabulary like this is very useful life skill and could come in handy down the road. Having someone with a traditional Mexican background visit “connected culture to the class”,Mrs. Martino explained. This was a great experience, and we are all hoping Mari Lee comes back soon.