Hillel teaches ethnic cooking

Sweet aromas of food, just like your Bubbe (Yiddish for grandmother) used to make, will waft through the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center tonight.\nHillel will host "In Our Bubbes' Kitchen: Sephardic Cooking" at 7 p.m. in the Hillel Center, 730 E. Third St. The class is the second in a series focusing on different styles of Jewish cooking. This week's class focuses on the food of Sephardic Jews, who are Jews that originated from Spain and were exiled in 1492. Since evacuating Spain, Sephardic Jews have spread all over the world.\nJessie Mallor, the director of Jewish Student Life at the Hillel Center, said she is excited about the program. After the success of the last class, which focused on Ashkenazic, or central European Jewish cooking, Mallor hopes for a bigger crowd at this event. \nFreshman Lauren Berman attended the last cooking class.\n"I'm a Jew, and I can't cook," she said. \nBerman is not sure if she will be able to attend the class today, but she said she believes it is a great opportunity for Jewish students to learn about their own culture, as well as different cultures within the Jewish community.\n"People eat the food our Bubbes make, but they don't know how to make it," she said.\nMallor is not sure exactly what the group will be making at the class, though she has been researching different Sephardic treats. \nAccording to www.inmamaskitchen.com, Sephardic cooking incorporates Mediterranean herbs and spices.\nMallor also hopes that this cooking program will help students learn about their culture in an exciting way. \n"They learn to cook and use that as a really fun way to talk about Jewish culture," she said. "When you can talk about your culture through food, it's an entirely different thing."\nThe cooking class will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. tonight. For more information, visit www.indiana.edu/~hillel or call (812) 336-3824.\n-- Contact staff writer Jenny Kobiela at jkobiela@indiana.edu.