Flan, samosas and Italian pastries were among the menu items at a Roslyn destination on Saturday, though not one known for its cuisine.
The Bryant Library’s Young Adults Advisory Council, a group of teenagers who organize events at the library, put on an international food festival.
Each of the students in the club brought food representing a country of his or her choice, including India, Japan, China, France, Italy, Spain, Israel, Belgium and the United States. The event has taken place annually for at least the the past seven years. In all, 25 people attended.
“We’re always trying to innovate with the club,” said Jordan Curtis, a Roslyn High School senior and co-president of the Young Adults Advisory Council. “This year we wanted to do something more interactive, so instead of just learning about different cultures from the tables of food, we had different challenges set up to test knowledge of world languages and cultures.”
Those challenges included a game that asked attendees to identify national flags and another that quizzed eaters to recognize a country based on an outline of its borders, Curtis said.
At a candy sushi station, visitors made the Japanese dish out of assorted treats.
“You take a Rice Krispie treat, then choose candy, like a gummy worm and Swedish Fish, and lay it on top,” Curtis said. “Then you wrap it all up in a fruit roll-up.”
“It’s a lot of fun to see an event like this come together,” Curtis said. “The club works on leadership, communication and creativity. It’s a fun thing to do on Friday afternoon instead of sitting at home.”
Lauren Fasio, the young adult librarian who supervises the club, said the Young Adults Library Council has met for the past 20 years.
“A lot of kids do it because they get community service but eventually max out at 40 hours required by their school,” she said. “It’s nice to see they still come because they like it and make friends.”
“And they help the library,” she added. “Which is a benefit to us.”
