Culinary Explorer Project
● There will be a sign up for countries.
● You may NOT pick a country someone else has selected, the U.S., or France
(review linked example for a high quality submission).
● Research your country online, then create a google slideshow using on the
following format:
1. Required Content Slides: Include the following topics in this order; some may take
more than one slide.
1. Title Page - include a hashtag for the country’s cuisine (e.g. France:
#HomeofClassicCuisine, America: #GlobalFusionExperiment or
#MoreThanFastFood (2 pts)
2. Map of country filling the slide, in the context of its continent (3 pts)
3. Other Cultural Influences on the food (Ex. former occupying countries, prior
civilizations in the area, etc.) - explain the mark they left w/ food examples (5 pts)
4. Climate and Geographic Influences: what grows there, how people eat, such
as outdoor cafe culture in sunny Spain, Coffeehouses in rainy Seattle, oyster
beds in coastal France, cheesemaking in the grassy Alps, Tequila production in
Mexico’s cactus-friendly desert, etc. (5 pts)
5. 5-10 Common Flavors/ Combos/Ingredients used: key spices, herbs, & key
ingredients that capture the cuisine (Ex. oregano, anise, lamb, lemons, walnuts,
honey in Greece; orange blossom water, saffron and pistachios in Iran, corn,
cumin, beans and sour oranges in Mexico). (5 pts)
6. Iconic or Staple Foods & Drink / National Dishes Ex. tacos in Mexico;
pupusas in El Salvador, sauerkraut/pretzels/beer in Germany; describe 3, each
with a picture. This should be 3 slides. (5 pts)
7. Food Customs- a few examples of what to research below. This could be1-2
slides (5 pts):
i. When & how many meals do people eat during the day? Which is the
biggest meal? Which are usually eaten with family?
ii. Where- home, bars (tapas), restaurants, picnics, street vendors?
iii. Unique silverware or other tools for dining?
iv. Hand dominance (some countries only eat with 1 hand-why)?
v. Table etiquette differences from the U.S.?
vi. What’s considered courteous?
vii. Extra meals (like Brotzeit in Bavaria, Afternoon Tea in Britain, Tapas in
Spain...).
8. Major Food-related Holidays with Context & Associated Dishes: For
example, in the US, Thanksgiving is very food-centric with a lot of cohesion as to
what people eat on that day. These could be rooted in religious holidays
(Christmas, Passover), seasonal harvests (like strawberry picking or crab picking
season in U.S.), or historic events (like Oktoberfest or Bastille Day). Could be 1-3
slides (5 pts)
9. Your Selected Street Food Recipe to Demo: something less than 45 min
people could try making at home, with description, picture, and link to recipe
included on slide. DO NOT paste the whole recipe on the slide. (5 pts)
10.Works Cited Page(s): Place at end of the slideshow. Follow this format “Slide
number: linked page title” Ex: S4. Foods of France (5 pts)
11.Slide Conventions: EVERY slide must have (5 pts):
i. A brief, capitalized title
ii. Enhancing picture or graphic, scaled correctly, no distortion, sufficient
resolution, relevant to that slide’s content
iii. No pictures used as backgrounds; they make it too hard to read text
iv. Bulleted, concise text -
1. NO COMPLETE SENTENCES; distill it down for us in as few
words as necessary (“talking points”) to convey ideas you will
elaborate on during your presentation
2. NO copying and pasting text without paraphrasing & citing
3. Max 5 bullets per slide (5x5 rule)
v. FILL the space- large font, big, clear photos so back of room can read
easily
2. Presentation to the class while doing your demo. (10 pts)
Total: 60 pts: This project is the Final Exam for Seniors, 80% of Final Exam for 9th-12th.
