Osbourn High has over 2,000 students and almost 300 teachers. With all those people, many cultures are represented here. With different cultures come different kinds of food cuisines. “I am Indian. I eat my cultural foods every day, so I’m pretty attached to the food, explains Varsha Neels. While Antonio Mejia states, “Hispanic culture, specifically Central American culture, has quite a few cultural dishes. My family and I enjoy all our cultural food, ranging from some good old tamales to some other exotic options like tortas de pescado. The dishes we prepare always possess an aspect meaningful to our heritage and cultural sentiments.”

“My dish is called doro wat. It’s a dish that originated in the 15th-17th century. It’s used to represent celebration and culinary skills,” said Hasenet Abdulkadir. “Pasta a la vodka is really good. It’s my favorite. I believe it originates from Rome,” says Rapone. “I have a few dishes that I particularly like from my culture, like kibbeh, lamb chops, hummus, baklava, and shawarma. My grandmother used to make these dishes every holiday when my family and I would all go to her house for dinner,” English teacher Mr. Elias Nejame comments.

Every dish has its own unique flavor and essence. “Pasta a la Vodka has tomato paste, garlic, onions, heavy cream, vodka, basil, chili peppers, and oregano. It’s, like, kind of spicy, but not too spicy. It’s like a comforting spice. It includes basically your normal tomato sauce, but more creamy and heavy. It’s really good,” said Rapone. “Doro wat is a rich, slow-cooked chicken stew. The chicken is simmered in berbere spice, which is an Ethiopian spice that is used almost exclusively in Ethiopia, and caramelized onions. It is traditionally served on injera, which is basically similar to a tortilla, but it is much different in taste. It’s savory yet has the perfect amount of spice,” comments Abdulkadir.

Some foods are eaten regularly by students. “We make Pasta a la Vodka. Normally on Sundays, my dad makes many different kinds of pastas. It’s been a while since we’ve done that specific dish, but, you know, still different types of food,” Rapone recalls. “My family and I usually make our signature dish on hot days, funnily enough. I actually never understood why, but it really isn’t bad at all despite making things a bit warmer,” Mejia says. “I typically make Joloff Rice every week,” comments Ismial.  Others save the dish for special occasions, like a holiday, graduation, or baby shower.

Unfortunately, some cultures are not represented as much here due to our demographics. Hasenet Abdulkadir tells her feelings. “I feel like my culture is barely represented in school, with the lunches. It’s hard to get the ingredients, as we have to import them from Ethiopia.” Mr. Khalifa Ismaiel explains,”Yeah, the population from my culture here is not that great, so you only meet a few people around here compared to other cultures.” Which Mr. Nejame agrees with, saying, “I don’t really feel like my culture is represented here; there aren’t many Lebanese people.”

“Here, people don’t actually know much about Indian culture. They mostly know about butter chicken and naan bread. It’s mostly basic food we don’t actually eat that often. The southern Indian culture is not known for a lot for sure,” said Neels.

If you want to try some of the dishes you’re hearing about in this article, where should you go? “It’s easy to find Hispanic food places around Manassas. However, not all of them often have the added-value items whose flavor makes me and my family travel back in time to our homeland,” remarks Mejia.

“A couple of African restaurants serve Jallof rice. I like Rahama African Restaurant,” mentions Mr. Ismaiel.

“Basically any pizza place around is good. One that has been really good is Paziano’s, though,” notes Rapone.

Which foods do you most like from your culture? Is your favorite cultural food represented here in Manassas?