By Andrew Amaya
Bowls of potatoes, gallons of oil and excitement filled the Associated Student’s Inc. Beach Kitchen as students prepared to make latkes at the Latkes and Crafts event on Dec. 3.
The ASI Beach Kitchen and Interfaith Programs worked together to host the first ever Latkes and Crafts event as part of one of four events taking place on campus for Jewish Heritage Week.
The event is the first school sponsored event for Jewish Heritage Week, according to Jessica Spence-Moss, assistant director of the Office of Belonging and Inclusion Interfaith Programs.
Spence-Moss said that as the assistant director of Interfaith Programs, it is important that the campus acknowledges all of the diversity of cultures and traditions.
“One of the best ways to do that is through food because people like to eat,” Spence-Moss said. “Being able to share your culture with your friends and other people on campus is important and a way to break down barriers.”
Students who attended the event had the option to paint or get hands-on experience in making latkes.
Participating student that choose to make latkes were given a bowl of potatoes to peel and shred.
Volunteer cooks Judy Blumenthal and Long Beach State alumnus Norma Stein helped students in doing so.
From left to right, event volunteers and friends Judy Blumenthal and Norma Stein prepare to help students make their very own latkes. Photo credit: Andrew Amaya
Stein stayed behind the kitchen counter to help students shred their potatoes in a shredder while Blumenthal handed out more potatoes and prepared the oil.
Beach Kitchen workers also walked around giving out aprons and peelers to students walking in.
Blumenthal, a Jewish woman, provided attendees with some background on the significance of oil and its relation to Hanukkah.
“After the temple was destroyed, there was only a little bit of oil and it should have lasted for one night, but it lasted for eight, so now we have eight days of Hanukkah,” Blumenthal said. “It is the festival of lights.”
Stein, adding on to Blumenthal’s comments regarding the oil and food, said it was the reason that latkes and donuts are cooked in oil.
“We make desserts in oil like olive oil cake,” she said.
Students chatted as they peeled an entire bowl of potatoes to prepare their latkes on Dec. 3. Photo credit: Andrew Amaya
Although the two long-time friends have different cooking styles, they both agree that ketchup is a “big no-no” when it comes to making latkes.
“I’m doing cinnamon and sugar, but traditionally latkes are served with applesauce and sour cream,” Blumenthal said.
As the event came to a close, students mingled amongst one another, many taking away a new culinary skill-set.
Although it is uncertain if the Latkes and Crafts event will return annually, first-year international studies major Jackson Pesses said he hopes it does.
“It replaced my normal Tuesday schmooze days at the coffee shop,” Pesses said. “It’s always fun to get together to make food and paint.”
As someone who said they were ethnically Jewish, Pesses said that latkes remind him of Thanksgiving with his family.
“Normally, we all live far away, so we can’t get together for holidays,” he said. “When we do get together on Thanksgiving, we celebrate with latkes.”
The last remaining event set to occur during CSULB’s Jewish Heritage Week is a movie night that will take place on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. in room 131 of the Horn Center.
More information can be found here.
