Tufts Culinary Society brings chefs, students to the table to share love of food

It was a Monday evening, and roughly 50 students gathered together in Pearson Hall. Despite their busy midterm study schedules, these students were listening to Ross Weinberg, the chef and general manager of the Boston eatery Figs, an Italian restaurant created by legendary restaurateur Todd English that has two locations in Boston.

Organized by the Tufts Culinary Society (TCS), this event was called “Pizza, Pasta and Ross Weinberg” and took place on Mar. 7. Because Weinberg was a charming speaker, sharing the risky career decisions, regrets and dilemmas he encountered, even those who attended the event solely for the free food — pizzas from the restaurant —listened intently to his story.

TCS organized a similar event last fall, titled “A Talk with John De Silva." As the executive chef of Davis wine bar Spoke and one of Zagat’s “30 Under 30” for Boston in 2012, De Silva spoke about his career and how he opened up Spoke, which is featured on Boston Magazine’s “Top 50 Restaurants of 2016” list. 

According to TCS Vice President Ipek Emekli, being in Boston enables TCS to take advantage of the culinary scene and the restaurants here to bring all kinds of cuisine to its events on campus.

“Usually, as the TCS [executive] board, we start our weekly meetings off by discussing the approaching events but end up being distracted by talking about all the great places we have tried over the weekend and making plans about our next bonding, in which we will visit a great restaurant. So we have a huge list of restaurants that we love,” Emekli, a sophomore, said.

These places include Toscanini’s for ice cream, Union Square Donuts for desserts, Brasserie Jo for French, Sarma & Istanbullu for Mediterranean and Antico Forno for Italian. Bagelsaurus and Pepe Bocca are also on the list.

Chef talks are only a small part of the events and workshops TCS hosts. Each semester, TCS organizes cooking classes in partnership with Tufts Dining Services, as well as events such as sushi workshops, tours and themed dinners. Just last month, the society held a tour of the Union Square market and a vegetarian cooking class.

TCS organizes a wide array of events, and those events are almost never underattended. Part of TCS’s popularity is due to the power of food across cultures, according to Emekli.

“Food is always something that brings people together, so it holds a very important place in many, if not all, cultures,” she said.

TCS President Allison Wainer agreed, talking about the role of food in bringing people together from across cultures in her personal experience.

"In my own experience, there's nothing more cultural than food," Wainer, a senior, told the Daily in an email. "All of my family's traditions center around food, and I think many of my friends have similar experiences with cultural traditions... Time spent around the dinner table allowed me to bond with my host family in Paris and helped me ease my way into French culture for four months. I think the bottom line is that food brings people together and allows them to learn about new cultures."

Emekli said that today's fast-paced culture affects the way we eat, which is why TCS’s main goal is to “make food something more than late-night pizza takeouts and dining hall meals."

“We are surrounded by 24/7 deliveries, instant lunches, TV dinners, bottomless all-you-can-eat buffets and food that doesn’t seem to expire," she said. "It almost seems that food has become something insignificant and meaningless — something that we should get done with as soon as possible to go on with the chaos of our daily lives, rather than something that brings joy and pleasure.”

TCS is also determined to promote a healthy and balanced diet. This is evident in their five-course menu from the Fall Seasonal Dinner, which featured mixed green salad, sweet and savory tarte tatins, roasted salmon, gold potatoes and classic apple pie.

Additionally, TCS strives to promote the diversity of food by organizing “Culture Crawl," an annual event in which many culture clubs serve food from their cultures.With more than 200 participants, “Culture Crawl” is TCS’s biggest event.

“Today, most of us are exposed to the Americanized versions of international food — not that this is wrong, but I can definitely say that eating international food cooked personally by people from that culture is a completely different experience,” Emekli said. "[This event gives] the opportunity to people from different cultures to serve the food they love and know so well and also for other people to experience this food.”

Emekli said this event provides a platform for different cultures to showcase their culture and at the same time, raises awareness of diverse cultures on campus.

“[Culture Crawl] brings people together around something that they all love to do, regardless of what cultural background they are from — to eat and enjoy food," she said.