Roll up your sleeves and tie your apron — it’s time to get to cooking.
The International Institute of St. Louis and Global Foods Group have put out a regionwide call to action for residents and restaurants to submit their favorite dishes that use ingredients that aren’t typically available in conventional grocery stores. Professional chefs, hobbyists and amateurs are all welcome to share their recipes.
International Institute President and CEO Arrey Obenson told St. Louis on the Air that sharing recipes from kitchen to kitchen is a great way to better understand people from different cultures and regions of the world.
“This cookbook [is] a window to a whole new world that lives right next door,” he said. “This cookbook tells a story of how diverse this community is and how through gastronomy we can find our way to each other.”
Shayn Prapaisilp, Global Foods Group's chief officer of operations, attested to this personally. His parents opened their first small grocery store shortly after immigrating to St. Louis from Thailand in the 1970s. At first, the Prapaisilps were catering to St. Louis’ new Vietnamese population — one made up of refugees from the Vietnam War.
“Similar to what we’re trying to do now — just finding foodstuffs for folks who’ve been coming from trauma and conflict to resettle and make their transition a little bit better. As the years have passed, we’ve been able to expand our businesses, and now we have two international grocery stores and four restaurants,” Prapaisilp said.
The relationship between the International Institute of St. Louis and Global Foods Group has grown over the years, and the two organizations have collaborated many times to welcome new St. Louisans to the region — and to introduce people to new cultures through food.
Prapaisilp said he has seen a big change in St. Louis’ attitude toward dishes from across the globe.
“People are interested in food as a way to understand people and to travel. With the way St. Louis has changed and diversified, it’s a reflection of St. Louis as our community,” Prapaisilp said. “I [try not to say], ‘Oh, it’s ethnic food or international food.’ It’s just reflective of the people who are living in our region.”
You can submit your recipe for consideration via Google Forms. International institute and Global Foods Group hope to have the cookbook completed in a year’s time.
For more about the relationship between food and immigration and International Institute of St. Louis and Global Foods Group, as well as what dish Shayn Prapaisilp would submit to the cookbook, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or by clicking the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Avery Rogers is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr. Send questions and comments about this story to talk@stlpr.org.
