On the first day of spring 2018, alumni and past parents gathered for a spectacular evening of learning, fun, and good food with a cooking demonstration led by Asian cooking guru Chris Toy ’77. Toy captivated the audience with his interactive seminar: encouraging the group to touch and smell ingredients and sample choice items. However, the real excitement began when Toy allowed the group to put his instructions to the test: folding vegetable spring rolls and preparing wontons for the soup they would later eat as appetizers.

After the working portion of the evening was done, attendees sat down for a lovely dinner of steamed jasmine rice, 5 seasons wok baked chicken, and an Asian fusion salad, topped off with a Bowdoin log for dessert. The food was so delicious that many attendees made two or more trips back to the serving line for a larger helping! At the dinner tables, which boasted a range of class years, attendees shared laughs over spring roll folding failures and past Bowdoin experiences. When asked if they felt confident making the dishes learned during the demo at home, attendees emphatically raised their hands yes and expressed that they would also like to learn how to cook other cuisines in the near future.