American students heading for study abroad programs in Greece typically are aimed at Athens, but for 11 from Clark University in Worcester, Mass. the target was the second-largest city Thessaloniki, its cultural diversity, food and forced migration.
Their work was part of Clark’s newly developed study abroad course, People-on-the-Move Research Studio: Food, Migration, and Belonging in Thessaloniki, funded in part by the Leir Program, said Clark Now.
https://clarknow.clarku.edu/2024/09/24/taste-of-cuisine-and-culture-in-greece-shaped-by-migrants/
In tasting food from many cultures, they were guided by Panagiotis “Panos” Karafoulidis, a chef, former director of the Thessaloniki Culinary Arts Institute, and founder of Gastro Routes, which offers tasting tours.
They visited restaurants, bakeries, food markets, and a village home to Karafoulidis’ family of Anatolian Christian refugees and descendants as well as the city’s Jewish community that was devastated by the Nazi invasion in World War II.
Professor Anita Anita Fábos said Karafoulidis ‘set up an entire program for us, including observing women who were preparing for a wedding, cooking produce from his garden, and cooking over a fire.”
