AuPairCare Area Director Janell Fielding recently held an international potluck for au pairs at host family Senich’s home in Virginia. Host Mom Senich wanted to introduce her new male au pair Basti, from Germany, to the rest of the program participants in their community. Basti’s arrival further diversified this cluster of 50 au pairs, who come from Japan, Thailand, Spain, France, the Czech Republic, Brazil and more.
All of the au pairs brought a dish from their home country, creating a true feast of international proportions. Each au pair introduced themselves, what food he/she brought and shared what they were grateful for since starting their au pair program. Then a panel of judges voted for the top 3 dishes.
The winners were:
1st Place Basti from Germany with German Pancakes
Basti explained the tradition behind his German Pancakes:
“I chose a common German dish called potato pancakes, in Germany better known as Kartoffelpuffer or Reibekuchen. We eat them for a lot of occasions but usually on colder days. Without knowing, I also chose one of my host family’s favorite dishes. It was surprising to hear that Latkes (לאַטקע), that's how they call them, also play a big role in the Jewish tradition and are usually eaten on their Hanukkah festival. Such a coincidence! We had a really good time eating them. The procedure of making this kind of pancakes is not hard at all. Grounding potatoes and onions, mixing it with eggs and then frying it in a pan is basically all you have to do. Finally you can top them with applesauce, sour cream or serve them without garnish. I don't even remember when I learned the recipe, but my Mum taught me how to do potato pancakes years ago.”2nd Place Anna from Italy with Tiramisu
Tiramisu means ‘pick me up’ in Italian, which is no surprise considering the layers of coffee, eggs, sugar, mascarpone cheese and cocoa found in this world famous dessert.
3rd Place Tabatha from Brazil with Brigadeiros
Brigadeiros are an extremely popular chocolate bonbon often served at birthday parties. They are made by mixing sweetened condensed milk with cocoa powder, heating them and then rolling them into chocolate balls covered in granulated chocolate.
The international potluck event was a smash hit, utilizing a traditional American potluck setting to bring together culinary dishes from across the world all on one host family’s table.
