Fish and fresh veggies fill this restaurant table in Nairobi. (Photo: Getty) By Haley Scarpino I started at the Iowa Culinary Institute in August 2019, and I still remember my first gourmet dinner. As a first-year student, my role was simple: serve. We weren’t trusted to cook yet. We stood in a li ne along the kitchen wall, nervous and thrilled, watching second-year students plate thoughtful dishes onto warm plates with artful precision. The energy of the room was electric. The food seemed to verge on perfection. Delivering plates to guests, I began to understand the significance of these dinners. For decades, Des Moines Area Community College has marked each academic year by turning its attention outward. What began in the 1980s as focused cultural programs — Japan Week, China Week, Mexico Week — has evolved into a full “international year,” an annual campus-wide effort to explore a faraway culture. The format is simple, but the goal is expansive: to create a space for students, faculty and staff to get to know different parts of the world through history, culture and food. This year, the focus is on Kenya, a country shaped by deep tradition and a remarkable ability to adapt. Across its varied landscapes, farmers grow tea and coffee in the highlands, raise pigeon peas in drier regions and bring in fresh fish along the coast. More than 40 languages are spoken there, each one adding to a rich mix of culture, history, and local knowledge. That blend of honoring the past while embracing what’s next defines Kenya today — and offers a way to explore how food, community, and innovation come together. These ideas surface throughout the year in DMACC classrooms and, especially, the kitchen at DMACC’s Iowa Culinary Institute, where students prepare gourmet dinners inspired by the focus country’s cuisine. Students don’t simply replicate dishes; they translate what they’ve researched and studied into a multi-course dining experience. This spring’s Kenyan dinners, scheduled for April 2, 16 and 23, reflect that process. The menus draw from the foundations of Kenyan home cooking — beans, maize and greens layered with tamarind, coffee and warm spices — while embracing the techniques and precision of a professional kitchen. Students thoughtfully prepare proteins and intentionally plan courses so that each element feels seamless. For the culinary students, the process is as important as whatever ultimately lands on the plate. They’re challenged to move beyond technical execution and into a more nuanced kind of learning, one that requires research, context and a willingness to approach unfamiliar ingredients and traditions with care and curiosity. The result is a paced, multi-course meal, paired with wines from around the world, each course offering a different entry point into the cuisine. For reservations ($140), send a request to Kristi Miller at [email protected]. Or sign up for the mailing list to learn about upcoming events. Contributor Haley Scarpino is a chef, home cook, recipe tester, food editor and graduate of DMACC’s Iowa Culinary Institute. ...read more read less