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‘World on a Plate’ Course Gives UMW Community a Taste of Global Cuisines

When University of Mary Washington College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger first visited Europe nearly 25 years ago, he found himself in a restaurant in Rome, off the beaten path, eating an eggplant dish he’d never heard of before.

“I didn’t even know that I had ordered it, but it was absolutely amazing,” Mellinger said of the meal that opened his eyes to tasting unfamiliar foods during his travels. He recalled a recent trip to Bilbao, Spain, with UMW Center for International Education Director Jose Sainz, where they enjoyed pintxos – small snacks, often held together by skewers – that are popular in the Basque region. “Again, such amazing food!”

That willingness to explore new culinary experiences and food traditions is what inspired the University to introduce “World on a Plate: A Journey Through Global Cuisines,” an online course that will be held during the summer session starting June 22. Classes will examine food as cultural text – covering topics like migration, colonialism, sustainability and celebrations – through scholarly readings, public lectures and live cooking demonstrations over Zoom.

Modeled after the popular “COVID-19 in Context” series that provided insights on the pandemic’s impact during the summer of 2020, the three-credit course is designed for current UMW students. However, the public lecture component will also be open to alumni and other members of the Mary Washington and Fredericksburg communities.

“This course invites students to move beyond a surface-level familiarity with foods they may already know,” said Professor of French Scott Powers, one of the five faculty members from the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures (MLL) who developed the course, which guides participants as they delve into the cultural, historical and political forces that shape cuisines.

For students, the writing-intensive course fulfills UMW’s diverse and global perspectives requirement and gives them the chance to engage in research combining cultural analysis and creative reflections.

Faculty will discuss how trade routes like the Silk Road influenced dishes across Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and how migration and colonization blended food traditions. The course will also cover religious dietary restrictions such as being kosher and halal, how immigrants navigate between the traditions of their homeland and those of their new country, sustainability issues, labor conditions in agriculture and food access in low-income communities.

In addition, participants will hear from Danilo Orofino, a Sicilian-born chef who highlights different culinary regions of Italy at his restaurant, Orofino, and Joy Crump, co-owner of New American restaurant Foode, city councilmember, and former Top Chef contestant, who has cooked for the James Beard Foundation and is involved in its programs focusing on food policy, chef advocacy and change. Marielle Risse, an expert in literature, cultural studies and pedagogy who taught on the Arabian peninsula for two decades, will also lecture, as well as UMW Professor of Marketing Kashef Majid, who teaches the popular “Alleviating Food Waste” course at Mary Washington.

“Ultimately, food becomes a powerful entry point for cross-cultural understanding,” Powers said. “It allows students to develop a more nuanced, empathetic view of cultures beyond their own.”

Di Lauro hopes participants will come away with more humility, curiosity and respect for different perspectives – not just when it comes to food but for culture more broadly.

“If they’re willing to pause, ask and understand before judging another person’s food or culture, then we will have done something truly meaningful,” she said. “We hope to turn an everyday occurrence, something simple as a meal, into an opportunity for connection over division.”

Learn more about World on a Plate. Students who wish to enroll in the course for credit can do so through the UMW Banner portal, while alumni and community members can register on the UMW Alumni website.