Free Inquiry Blog Post #1

This inquiry project explores the connection between food, culture, and personal identity through the comfort meals and family recipes that have shaped the lives of my friends and myself! Food has always played a meaningful role in my own upbringing. Growing up in an Italian family, many of my fondest memories sitting with my family at my Nonna’s dining room table eating her cooking, and later her teaching me how to make them. These meals were a consistent source of comfort and connection, and they played a meaningful role in shaping my relationship with my family and cultural heritage.

Through this inquiry, I aim to create a digital recipe book that brings together favourite recipes from my friends, with a focus on dishes connected to their cultural backgrounds or meaningful experiences growing up. In addition to collecting recipes, I will have conversations with each person to better understand the personal significance of their chosen dish, including its connection to family traditions, cultural identity, and memory. When possible, I will also attempt to recreate as many of these recipes myself that I can, using the cooking process as an opportunity for reflection and experiential learning.

This blog will document my inquiry journey through written reflections, photographs, and videos of my cooking. By combining food, conversation, and technology, this project allows me to explore culture in an accessible and relational way, while reflecting on my own learning process throughout the inquiry.