UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — If you’ve ever wanted to make Japanese bento boxes, Venezuelan arepas or a host of other international dishes, WPSU’s new digital series, “World Kitchen,” invites you to join guest chefs in the kitchen to cook up culinary delights from around the globe. 

In the next episode on Sunday, March 27, guest chef Mizuho Kawasaki will demonstrate how to create delicious and beautiful bento boxes, as well as how to make tonkatsu, Japanese potato salad, and chirashi sushi. Viewers can ask questions and cook along in their own kitchens, or just watch the fun. You don’t even need a real bento box since Kawasaki will show you how to use simple things you have in your own kitchen to create your masterpiece.

The free interactive cooking class is presented live on Zoom monthly. Registration for the March class is at this link.

The series is “a program on culture, through the vehicle of food,” said host Tamra Fatemi. “Everyone knows the kitchen is the heart of any home, and having the opportunity to invite 50 or 150 friends into my World Kitchen on a Sunday afternoon, once a month, is a labor of love and pure joy for me.” 

Fatemi, WPSU’s event coordinator, said the pandemic forced her to look for ways to connect with people virtually.  

“I have always loved sharing culture through food,” she said. “My goal was to offer a friendly and casual workshop where guests could log into a Zoom session and cook along with me or just watch. I wanted them to feel like they were sitting in my kitchen and chatting with me as I prepared the dishes, just as any friend would do in normal times.” 

The first episode featured Fatemi offering a workshop on making Persian baklava. When COVID-19 restrictions eased, Fatemi invited friends into her kitchen for workshops featuring guest chefs and recipes from China, India, Turkey, Italy, Tunisia, Mexico, Poland, Nigeria and Thailand, among others. The guest chefs talk about the cultures, history and traditions each dish represents. 

Since November 2021, the program has been sponsored by Penn State Outreach & Online Education Office of Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity. Past episodes are archived here.  

Upcoming episodes include: 

• Sunday, March 27, 2 p.m. – Guest chef Mizuho Kawasaki will show viewers how to create their own delicious and beautiful bento boxes, as well as how to make tonkatsu, Japanese potato salad, and chirashi sushi. 

• Sunday, April 24, 2 p.m. – The cuisine of Venezuela with guest chef Luciana Alvarez, making recipes including arepas, pabellon venezolano, and quesillo. 

• Sunday, May 22, 2 p.m. – The cuisine of Peru with guest chefs Tati Tineo and Derek Polay.

• Thursday, June 16, 7 p.m. – World Kitchen Special Edition: “We Are...”, a hybrid virtual and in-person event presented in conjunction with the Penn State Alumni Association's We Are Alumni week, with guest chefs from the Penn State community sharing their favorite recipes. Seating for the live event is limited and guests can register here.   

• Sunday, July 17, 2 p.m. – “Once Upon a Pesto” with guest chef Jessica Paholsky. Recipes include pineapple pesto inspired by Brazil, Swiss chard pesto, inspired by Switzerland, and corn pesto, inspired by South Africa. 

• Sunday, Aug. 28, 2 p.m. – “Send Me to Pemberly – Darcy's Favorites” with guest chef Colleen Connolly-Ahern. Connolly-Ahern will lead viewers in creating zucchini soup with Stilton, tea sandwiches, and a model trifle.