A partnership between RevereTV and Revere Public Schools has resulted in a new cooking series that will feature RPS family liaisons from across the school district making recipes from their native countries.
The first episode of the RPS Ambassadors Cooking Series kicked off last week with host Estaphany Rodriguez, RPS Family and Community Coordinator, and Sujeiris Ryan, Hill Elementary School Family Liaison.
The duo, along with Ryan’s two children, Jesse and Juliana, made several dishes from the Dominican Republic in honor of Dominican Independence Day, which is celebrated on February 27th.
You can watch the full episode of Ryan and company making a delicious meal of shrimp sauteed in garlic, avocado salad, and fried plantains at here.
The new series, part of RevereTV’s popular What's Cooking Revere, was the brainchild of RPS Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Lourenço P. Garcia and RevereTV Executive Director Bob Dunbar. Dunbar said Dr. Garcia approached him with the idea as part of the ongoing collaboration between RevereTV and RPS.
“Dr. Garcia had this idea of having the RPS liaisons come do a cooking show on RevereTV,” said Dunbar. “After a bit of brainstorming, we came up with the idea of doing a cooking show that would spotlight the different countries that are represented in the school system.”
Dunbar admits that he may have planted the seed in Dr. Garcia’s head a few months ago.
“I’ve been pestering Dr. Garcia for a while to come on RevereTV and do a cooking show,” Dunbar said with a laugh. “From there, we continued these conversations on how to best spotlight RPS on What's Cooking, Revere.”
It was through these conversations that the idea percolated to invite RPS Family Liaisons onto the show and cook homemade recipes that spotlight their native cuisine and culture. The show would also serve as a way for the RPS liaisons to promote themselves and their work in the schools.
"Revere is a cultural mosaic shaped by different ethnic and racial groups, languages, and cultures striving to coexist in a community embarked on a journey of self-discovery, identity recalibration, and transformation," said Dr. Garcia. "Expressing ourselves through food is a powerful way of bridging cultures. Through its family liaison ambassadors, Revere Public Schools can help members of our community overcome cultural barriers by working with the mayor’s office and RevereTV to open its schools to the wider community."
Rodriguez, who oversees RPS’s Family Liaison program, said she’s excited for future episodes after the successful launch of the series last week.
“It will really give viewers a peek into the different types of food our liaisons grew up with and the food and culture that exists in the homes of many of our students across the district,” she said.
Rodriguez, whose family is originally from Peru, hopes to showcase some Peruvian fare during the next episode.
“The hope here is that we can involve not just family liaisons but parents, students, or anyone from the schools that wants to get involved,” she said. “I think once people see a couple of episodes, they’ll want to take part.”
Dunbar is hoping to film and air a new episode once a month.
“We are shooting for an episode a month but also working towards some of the programs being scheduled around important holidays in a particular country,” he said. “We started with the food from the Dominican Republican because it happened to be Dominican Republican Independence Day, so the timing was right.”
See more photos here.