Where every recipe tells a story.
Food Stories is a collaborative journey across nations, where food becomes the storyteller and culture. This project invites students to look beyond recipes and ingredients, and to listen closely to the memories, traditions, and values carried on a plate.
Every dish has a story. In India, food speaks of family, festivals, climate, and centuries of shared wisdom. In Switzerland, food reflects precision, sustainability, local produce, and a deep respect for craft. In Indonesia, food carries the rhythm of islands, spices, ancestry, and community life. Through conversations with elders, families, farmers, and peers, students explore how food connects generations and regions, while also responding to modern concerns such as nutrition, environment, and changing lifestyles.
Food Stories is an interdisciplinary learning experience that blends history, geography, science, language, and social studies. By documenting traditional recipes, interviewing elders, and sharing personal narratives, photographs, and creative expressions, students preserve cultural heritage and build intercultural understanding through the universal language of food.
Why we chose Food Stories
We chose Food Stories because food is a universal language, spoken daily yet rarely studied. Every meal carries layers of meaning. It holds memory, culture, science, geography, health, and values, all quietly served on a plate.
Many family recipes are at risk of being lost over time. Food Stories aims to preserve cultural heritage, bridge the gap between grandparents and younger generations, and foster cultural understanding through the shared language of food.
Contents of this contribution
- Soto Ayam (Indonesia) by Biel
- Nasi Liwet (Indonesia) by Cinta Aureylia
- Dendeng Nenek (Indonesia) by Syafira Amalia
- Nasi Tumpeng (Indonesia) by Dzihni Norrisallah
- Chicken Biryani (India) by Usha
- Mapazha Puliserry (India) by Usha
- Childhood food memories with Mr. Suresh Kumar (India) by Ishika
- Onam Sadhya (India) by Thomas Mani
- Cultural food of different states in India (India) by Isha
- Food memories (Switzerland) by Robin
- From Farm to Plate – the journey of food project (Indonesia) by Felisya Rahmi
- The safe plate project – “Verified global Halal recipes” (Indonesia) by Amirah Azzaria
- Is yacón the potato of the future? (Switzerland) by Hajo
Indonesian dishes
Soto Ayam
Soto Ayam is a traditional Indonesian chicken soup known for its rich aroma and comforting taste. Made with turmeric-infused broth, shredded chicken, and fragrant spices such as lemongrass, garlic, and ginger, it is commonly served with rice, vermicelli noodles, boiled eggs, and fresh herbs. More than just a dish, Soto Ayam is deeply rooted in family traditions and everyday life in Indonesia, often prepared for gatherings and special moments, carrying warmth, care, and memories passed down through generations.
Nasi Liwet
Hi everyone! My name is Cinta Aureylia from Indonesia. Today, I would like to share the meaning of nasi liwet, a traditional dish that carries deep cultural value. Nasi liwet is commonly served during family gatherings, simple Thanksgiving events, and community meals where people come together to eat in a relaxed setting. It is usually enjoyed together on banana leaves, without formality or social boundaries. This tradition encourages closeness, conversation, and a sense of equality among everyone present. Nasi liwet represents gratitude and harmony. However, nasi liwet emphasises simplicity and togetherness, reminding us that meaningful moments are created through sharing food, time, and connection with others.
Author: Cinta Aureylia
Dendeng Nenek
Hi everyone! Let me introduce myself; my name is Syafira Amalia from Indonesia, and now i’d like to share my grandma’s favourite foods, after interviewing her. There are foods you eat because you’re hungry, and there are also foods you eat because of memories. One of them is dendeng nenek, which can only be made by Grandma.
Dendeng nenek is indeed not widely known like Rendang or Padang rice, but its taste can certainly compete with those dishes. In many homes, Dendeng nenek creates its own aroma that can even be smelled long before the food is cooked. Everyone looks forward to this food, a dish made with love and sincerity from a grandmother for her family and grandchildren.
On tough days, we as a family always look forward to this food, a dish that always breaks the silence and is always a reward worth waiting for. Grandmother says that this food is a traditional dish passed down from her parents. The ingredients chosen and the preparation techniques are very carefully considered. Grandmother is always happy and enthusiastic when her children and grandchildren ask her to make her special dried meat. It is from these small things that Grandmother feels truly alive and always present in the daily lives of her children and grandchildren. Therefore, Grandmother always serves her best dendeng because, for her, this is not just cooking, but the taste and aroma that create deep and memorable impressions for her family.
Every time when child or grandchild asks for Dendeng nenek. In her heart, Grandma says, “Alhamdulillah, my children always remember and want my dishes.” Those small details are what always move Grandma and make her grateful to be able to carry on the ancestral heritage in the form of dishes from past generations.
Author: Syafira Amalia
Nasi Tumpeng
Hi everyone! Let me introduce myself. I’m Dzihni Norrisallah from Indonesia, and now I’d like to share my grandparent favorite foods after interviewing them.
After interviewing my grandparents about their favourite food, they both smiled and immediately answered that they love nasi tumpeng. They explained that this cone‑shaped rice dish is special not only because of its rich flavours, but also because it is usually served on joyful celebration days such as birthdays, anniversaries, or important family milestones. Whenever nasi tumpeng is placed in the center of the table, it becomes a symbol of gratitude, togetherness, and shared happiness. My grandparents said that cutting the tip of the rice cone and sharing it with loved ones always makes them feel deeply moved and thankful for the blessings in their lives.
Nasi tumpeng itself has a long history in Indonesian culture, especially in Javanese traditions, where it is often prepared for ceremonies called “selamatan” or “syukuran.” The tall cone of yellow rice is usually surrounded by assorted side dishes such as vegetables, eggs, tempeh, chicken, and sometimes seafood, each of which carries a symbolic meaning related to prosperity, health, and harmony. The shape of the rice cone is said to resemble a mountain, which in traditional beliefs represents a sacred place and the connection between humans and the divine. Because of this symbolism, my grandparents feel that eating nasi tumpeng is not just about enjoying a meal, but also about remembering their cultural roots and expressing gratitude to God for protection and good fortune.
During the interview, they also mentioned that nasi tumpeng is often used to mark transitions or new beginnings, such as the opening of a business, the start of a new year, or the success of a family member. For them, these moments are opportunities to pause, reflect, and appreciate how far they have come. Sharing nasi tumpeng with relatives, neighbours, and friends helps to strengthen social bonds and spread a sense of warmth and solidarity. As they spoke, it became clear that their love for nasi tumpeng is closely tied to memories of laughter, prayers, and heartfelt conversations around the dining table. In the end, I realized that by choosing nasi tumpeng as their favorite food, my grandparents were also choosing a symbol of joy, gratitude, and the enduring value of family traditions.
Author: Dzihni Norrisallah
Indian dishes
Chicken Biryani
Demonstration by Mrs Soumya S, teacher of Christ Nagar High school, Kerala, in the local language Malayalam.
Recipe text in English
So, today I am going to make a chicken biryani. When you hear “chicken biryani”, you might think it is something that takes a long time to prepare, but this is a very easy version made in a pressure cooker. It is particularly useful for people going to work who need to clock in early—for instance, I have to punch in by 7:30 am—and need to prepare both breakfast and lunch quickly. On days when you have chicken available, you can make this quite easily.
First, place the pressure cooker on the stove, pour in some oil, and add cinnamon and cloves. Then add finely chopped onions, chopped green chillies, crushed ginger and garlic, and chopped tomatoes, and sauté them all together. Add the chicken pieces to this and stir well until the chicken is slightly fried.
To this mixture, add one large tablespoon of curd. Stir it well and then add the biryani rice. For one and a half cups of rice, you should use three glasses of water. Mix everything, check the salt levels, and close the pressure cooker. You can turn the stove off after two whistles. I have also added a little ghee, which you can include if you wish. Once the pressure has been completely released, the dish can be served. This is a very easy biryani to make, and everyone should give it a try.
Author: Usha, teacher at Christ Nagar High School
Mapazha Puliserry
Recipe by Mrs Chandrika Shekhar, age 90, in Malayalam:
Recipe translated into English by Roshni, daughter of Mrs Chandrika:
Wash the mangoes well. Peel it and set to boil with 1 or 2 cups of water. The mangoes must be soaked. Add red chilli + turmeric powder + salt + jaggery. Let it soften.
Grind grated coconut + green chilli + cumin seeds into a very fine paste without any granules.
Once the mangoes are cooked, add the paste and cook it well till the raw smell disappears. Take a blender, pour sour curd and crush the lumps in one pulse.
Remove the cooked mangoes from the flame and add the curd. Mix it well. Take a sauté pan, pour a little oil. Add mustard, red chilli + curry leaves + fenugreek seeds. Add it to the curry and serve hot. Check the taste of the salt and, if necessary, add more.
Author: Usha, teacher at Christ Nagar High School
Onam Sadhya
Onam celebrates the annual homecoming of the legendary, generous King Mahabali, a golden-era ruler whose popularity made gods jealous, leading Lord Vishnu to banish him but grant him a yearly return to his beloved people, marked by vibrant floral carpets (Pookalam) and grand feasts (Sadhya) symbolizing prosperity, equality, and gratitude for the harvest. The Sadhya is an elaborate vegetarian banquet served on a banana leaf, featuring numerous dishes like Sambar, Payasam, and pickles, representing unity, abundance, and Kerala’s rich heritage.
Author: Thomas Mani
Childhood food memories with Mr. Suresh Kumar
Video conducted in Malayalam by Ishika, granddaughter of Mr. Suresh Kumar, age 69
In this interview, my grandfather reflects on their childhood food memories and the cultural significance of shared meals. He expresses a deep fondness for traditional South Indian dishes, specifically recalling the distinct aroma of school lunches wrapped in banana leaves and a lifelong love for ghee dosa. He highlights, how large extended families collaborated to prepare festive treats like payasam and halwa for special occasions. While my grandfather admits to a childhood dislike for bitter gourd, he cherishes the nostalgia of gathering with relatives during festivals like Onam. These recollections emphasise how communal dining traditions and home-cooked flavours serve as a lasting link to one’s cultural heritage and family history. Today, however, he notes a modern shift towards more health-conscious eating habits compared to the rich ingredients used in the past.
Author: Ishika
Cultural food of different states in India
Kerala – Puttu & Kadala
Rice and coconut are traditionally steamed in bamboo tubes, natural materials for cooking. This reflects Kerala’s geography and a way of living centred on farming, cultivation, and raising livestock emphasizing self-sufficiency, community interdependence, and a deep connection with nature for sustenance and wealth
A symbol of simplicity and health; every home has a unique version.
Tamil Nadu – Pongal
Rice lentil dish prepared as Thanks to the Sun God, a harvest festival dish.
Pongal in Tamil means bubble and overflow, which signifies abundance
Shows gratitude for nature and farming.
Punjab – Makki di Roti & Sarson da Saag
A classic and nutritious Punjabi dish made of wheat and various greens like mustard greens, spinach, etc. Sarson da saag (mustard greens curry) and makki di roti (maize flatbread)
Farmers prepared this hearty meal during winter to stay strong in the cold, a symbol of Punjab’s strength.
Gujarat – Dhokla
A light, vegetarian, fluffy, and savoury steamed snack made of a batter of rice and split chickpeas (Bengal gram), and then tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Fermentation shows how Gujaratis preserved food in dry climates.
A healthy snack enjoyed during family gatherings. culture influenced by Jainism.
Bengal – Rosogolla
Bengali sweet made from soft, spongy dumplings of chhena (cottage cheese) soaked in fragrant sugar syrup. The sweet is an iconic part of celebrations and has a distinct, melt-in-your-mouth texture and a balanced, sweet flavor
A pride of Bengali cultural identity is represented in festivals, weddings, and home celebrations.
Author: Isha M Pratap
Switzerland
Food memories – Interview with the Grandparent of Robin
Was there a dish you loved so much that you wanted to eat it again and again?
Not really, the most important thing was to get full.
Who usually cooked meals at home when you were a child?
Nearly always, his mother because his father had to work, and he went to school. At the age of sixteen, he started to cook for himself.
Did you have any special food that was made only on holidays, birthdays, or festivals?
Not really, because it was after the postwar period. (My grandpa grew up in postwar Germany, so the country was poor and in rebuilding.
What was your favourite school lunch or snack that your parents prepared?
He always ate the same thing at school, a sandwich with two slices of bread and cold meat in the middle.
Was there any food you disliked or refused to eat as a child?
Not really, because it was no option to be picky.
Was there a particular dish everyone in your family looked forward to at family gatherings?
Only a roast on Sunday and on seasonal holidays.
Was there any dish connected to your culture or tradition that was important in your home?
When my grandparent was younger, a special thing was that he sometimes ate duck.
Was there any special phrase or expression people in your family used when talking about food?
No.
Did you ever notice that other families ate differently from your family? How?
Not really remarkable.
Have you changed or adapted any traditional recipes to suit today’s tastes or diet?
More meat than before, and also more variety.
Author: Robin Voll
Projects around food
From Farm to Plate—the Journey of Food Project
“From Farm to Plate” is a small-scale educational exhibition that highlights the journey of everyday food ingredients—from cultivation and harvesting to processing, distribution, and consumption. The exhibition uses visual storytelling and sensory elements to help visitors understand how food is produced and why each stage of the supply chain matters.
The entire setup is realistic and simple to execute: one or two tables or a small booth displaying real ingredients, illustrated process timelines, aroma samples, farmer photographs, and short facts.
Author: Felisya Rahmi
The safe plate project – “Verified global Halal recipes”
Hi everyone, I’m Amirah Azzaria, and I’m building something deeply personal that I believe can connect the global Muslim community through the universal language of food. Like many of you, I love watching mukbangs and food shows; they open up amazing windows into international cuisines, and I often find myself intensely craving the incredible dishes I see.
But the excitement is often followed by a barrier: the question, “Is this halal?” As a Muslim, navigating the world of global recipes can be stressful due to the ingredients that are often hidden and traditional methods that aren’t always compliant. This feeling of frustration by craving a dish but not being able to find its halal status, or its authentic, modifiable recipe, is what sparked this project.
I’m creating the Global Food Story Map & Database, a community-driven platform where the “Story of Food” goes with its Halal Status and Culinary Adaptability. We’re documenting the original cultural history and preparation methods of dishes from around the world, but with an essential layer with a certified Halal status availability, and most importantly, the authentic, base recipe that allows users to confidently adapt ingredients for a halal version without sacrificing the true flavor or technique.
This isn’t just a recipe site, but it’s a bridge that lets us explore the world’s flavors, celebrate the history behind every dish, and confidently recreate those cuisine with a halal recipe, making global cuisine truly accessible and permissible for everyone.
This platform operates on three foundational pillars:
1. Cultural Context (The Story): Users contribute detailed narratives about the origin, historical significance, and local traditions surrounding a dish or ingredient, linked to an interactive world map.
2. Culinary Transparency (The Recipe): Every dish provides the original, authentic recipe or preparation method used in the region. This transparency allows users, particularly those with dietary restrictions, to inspect the foundational ingredients.
3. Halal Filtering and Adaptation (The Solution): This is the project’s unique value. Each entry will feature a Halal Status Indicator. Crucially, the platform will offer suggested halal swaps for non-compliant ingredients (e.g., swapping lard for plant-based fats or non-halal meat for certified alternatives), ensuring users can make the dish at home with its integrity of flavor maintained but with guaranteed halal compliance.
The goal is to transform the dietary limitation into an opportunity for global culinary exploration and confidence by turning cravings into achievable, culturally rich, and halal-compliant home-cooked meals.
Author: Amirah Azzaria
Is yacón the potato of the future?
Yacón is a good-tasting tuber from the Andes mountains. Unlike potatoes or sweet potatoes, they can also be eaten raw. They taste a bit like apples and pears, and the plant produces beautiful flowers.
Unfortunately, yacón is not winter-hardy, but you can overwinter the root crown and divide it in spring to replant.
Author: Hajo
Reflection
The Food Stories project brings learning to the table in its most human form. Through shared recipes, memories, and local ingredients, students discovered that food is not merely sustenance but a living archive of culture, geography, science, and values. Each story traced a quiet journey from soil to stove, from elders’ wisdom to young voices, weaving nutrition, tradition, and sustainability into one thoughtful narrative
By listening to families and communities, comparing practices across regions and countries, and reflecting on environmental and health perspectives, students learned to respect diversity while recognizing common threads. The project sharpened research skills, communication, empathy, and interdisciplinary thinking, proving that classrooms can extend into kitchens, farms, and memories.
Authors
Cinta Aureylia (Indonesia)
Robin Voll (Switzerland)
Dzihni Norrisallah (Indonesia)
Hajo Emch (Switzerland)
Felisya Rahmi (Indonesia)
Qanita Shabria (Indonesia)
Amirah Azzaria (Indonesia)
Isha M Pratap (India)
Ishika Sabhishek (India)
Biel (Indonesia)
Usha Rugmini, teacher at Christ Nagar High School (India)
Thomas Mani (India)
(reviewed by Sol, THE ! ambassador)
Sources
Cover picture by ChatGPT (open ai)
Soto ayam (wikimedia.org), Sakurai Midori, CC BY-SA 2.1 JP, via Wikimedia Commons
Nasi Liwet (wikimedia.org), Risanprasetyo/Febri Ady Prasetyo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Puttu with Kadala (wikimedia.org), Jackson John 10, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Pongal (wikimedia.org), Shafana jasmine, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Makki di Roti (wikimedia.org), Yash Kapoor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dhokla (wikimedia.org), Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rosogolla (wikimedia.org), Nithyascorner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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This project beautifully shows how food can be so much more than just something we eat , it’s a window into traditions, history, family memories, and the ways people connect across generations and places. I love how you went beyond recipes to listen to elders, document stories, and celebrate the meaningful role meals play in culture and identity. It’s a great reminder that food can be a powerful bridge between people, ideas, and sustainability. Keep exploring and sharing these heartfelt narratives , they enrich understanding and spark curiosity across borders