Harmony through hospitality

Food, inarguably, is one of the most accessible ways to experience another culture. It’s also a great way of bringing people together, which can further boost mutual understanding, tolerance and respect in society. And this was perfectly demonstrated by AMI Education (Swanston Street Campus) which celebrated Harmony Day and the graduation of Certificate 3 (Commercial Cookery) students of classes 11A and 11B on March 18 at the Red Whisk Café in the heart of the city.

The focus, of course, was the delectable spread prepared by the hospitality students under the deft guidance of their trainers. What was striking, however, was the unique concept of symbolising and upholding the spirit of cultural harmony through the prudently composed international menu. This was well demonstrated by the innovatively designed menu card, which illustrated the overarching message of harmony through the deft use of flags and scripts to highlight national cuisines. Fares such as Tom Yum Goong (a prawn soup with distinct hot and sour flavours enhanced with fragrant herbs and crushed chilly peppers) from Thailand, Mattar Paneer (cottage cheese and peas in a sweet and spicy sauce) from India, Tossed Garden Salad and Roasted Turkey representing Western cuisine, Special Fried Rice from China and Rice Paper Rolls from Vietnam were a few delicacies among the elaborate spread that not only enticed the eyes and tingled the taste buds, but also propagated the multicultural splendor of Australia..

Students manning the serving counters beamed with expectant pride as the admiring and famished guests gazed hungrily at their exquisite creations. The aroma of harmony was indeed in the air as they spiritedly expounded on their preparations at this special graduation banquet. Dhruti Modi, a student at the institute from India spoke about how every day on the course was harmony day for her as she picked up culinary skills and gained confidence in a friendly, motivating and supportive environment. Similar sentiments were echoed by fellow students Sham Maudhoo from Mauritius and Dongye Gao from China.

The grand banquet, undoubtedly, demonstrated the expert guidance, direction and supervision provided by the trainers. Reece Thomas, teacher of a number of hospitality training packages and Arvinder Jabbal, assistant program coordinator, hospitality management, were amongst them.

The activities on the day truly were a celebration of AMI’s successes as a culturally diverse educational community.

Bryan Cole, Director of Studies (Hospitality), welcomed all and talked about how AMI strongly emphasises on being together and respecting and appreciating other culture.

Esther Teo, Head of the Academic Division, in her stirring speech said that Harmony Day is all about people meeting people, supporting each other and enjoying each others’ company, irrespective of cultural considerations. In addition to that, Harmony Day, she stated, stood for thinking not only about oneself but also about the other person and being a friend to the other person.

An awards ceremony was held to felicitate students who had participated in a cookery competition held by the institute earlier. The winning team, aptly named Friendship, was represented by Thi Van Nguyen, Thi Thuy Linh Nguyen and Kim No Doan and their show stealing menu was Zucchini Soup, Barramundi in Sherry Vinegar and Chilly and Raspberry Tart in Hazelnut and Coconut Pastry.

One could visualize how seamlessly the Australian Government’s Express Yourself theme for the 2010 Harmony Day had blended into this special banquet. And as everyone happily tucked into the delightful spread, the clink of the cutlery and the buzz of the merry gathering created a perfect ambience for relishing the taste of harmony. Truly, in tandem with the spirit of Harmony Day, the celebration at AMI professed that “Everyone Belongs”.