OXFORD, Miss. – A taste of authentic Chinese cuisine is
offered at the University of Mississippi Thursday (Nov. 8)
when the new Cook! Eat! Share! organization hosts its first
civic dinner.
Scheduled at 6 p.m. in Lenoir Hall, China Table features a
three-course meal of vermicelli and seaweed, Chinese
barbecue ribs, Chinese dumplings and green bean soup. The
cost is $8.88, selected because of a traditional Chinese
belief: In the Chinese language, the number “8” when spoken
is similar to the sound of the word “fortune” and is
considered a lucky number in Chinese culture, said Daphne
Ingene, a graduate student in counseling education and
coordinator of the dinner.
Ingene, a native of Hong Kong, is a member of Cook! Eat!
Share!, which was created this fall by UM’s Counseling
Center, International Programs Office and Department of
Family and Consumer Sciences. The multicultural
organization includes students and faculty spouses
representing the countries of Western Europe, Asia and
South America, as well as the United States.
Ingene said she wants to introduce the local community to
other international cultures by means of food. Her vision
has become the organization’s goal. The group plans to
offer a series of civic dinners, each one spotlighting a
different ethnic food prepared by its members.
“As an international student, I wanted to find a way to
feed the American curiosity about foreign culture,” she
said. “While working with international students, I learned
food is our international language.”
Yang Liu of China, a pharmacology postdoctoral research
associate and member of Cook! Eat! Share!, is supervising
the meal preparations in cooperation with other members of
Chinese origin. Dinner guests will learn not only about
Chinese cuisine, but also about traditions and values of
the country.
For more information or for assistance related to a
disability, contact Ingene at dingene@olemiss.edu or
662-915-3784.