Global recipes for the classroom
Held annually on 21 March, Harmony Day is a joyful celebration of inclusivity and belonging for all Australians. It is a day to recognise and embrace our country’s rich cultural diversity through meaningful conversations and shared experiences — and for us that means cooking up a storm!
A fantastic way to celebrate Harmony Day is to link it to your kitchen garden and prepare and share a delicious, global feast with your classroom. Engage children and young people in Harmony Day by exploring dishes from around the world and sparking discussions about food origins to encourage social connection and deeper cultural learning.
Why Orange?
The official colour of Harmony Day is orange, symbolising meaningful conversations, mutual respect, and social inclusivity. Including orange-coloured ingredients in your feast is a simple yet powerful way to acknowledge the spirit of the day.
Here’s a list of orange-tinged Autumn produce, now in season:
- Pumpkin: Perfect for soups, scones, or roasting.
- Carrots: Great for salads, dips, or baking.
- Sweet potatoes: A versatile ingredient for savoury and sweet dishes.
- Oranges: Ideal for fresh juices, dressings, or desserts.
Cook your way around the world
We’ve unlocked six delicious recipes to help everyone celebrate Harmony Day in their kitchen garden or classroom. These recipes have been whipped up by thousands of Kitchen Garden Program members, who have accessed them from our extensive library of seasonal, culturally diverse recipes in our online resource library and community hub, The Shared Table. What one will you try first?
1. Lahmacun, Turkey
Try the Turkish answer to pizza. Lahmacun is made with a soft pre-prepared dough filled with lamb mince and loads of garden ingredients like capsicum, garlic, onion, mint, parsley, and tomatoes. It’s usually served with lemon juice squeezed over, a sprinkling of sumac, a light chopped salad and then rolled up to bite into.
2. Seeded Brown Rice Salad, Japan
This salad is a versatile and nourishing dish, perfect for preparing in advance. Packed with nutty brown rice, crunchy seeds, and fresh flavours, it can be easily adapted to suit different tastes. Simply swap the tofu for chicken, roasted pumpkin, or tuna for delicious variations.
3. Ghormeh sabzi, Iran
Ghormeh sabzi is the national dish of Iran, is an ancient Persian classic. Sabzi means 'vegetables' or, more literally, ‘greens’. The technique of cooking the herbs until they are dry is a key part of this dish and deepens the flavour.
4. Roqaq, Egypt
Roqaq ('rok-kak') is a very simple flatbread that is still made in Egypt today in a city called Asyut, where it is served with aged cheese (mesh), or broken into a soup of meat, vegetables and broth. In some areas a similar flatbread is called feteer ('fett-eer').
5. Summer fatoush, Lebanon
Fattoush is a herby Middle Eastern salad. It includes pieces of toasted Lebanese pita bread and a zingy dressing with lots of crunchy cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce.
6. Broccoli thoran, India
From the southern India state of Kerala, thoran (pronounced ‘tor-an’) is a popular dish usually eaten with steamed rice. The chopped vegetables are mixed with grated coconut (which grow in abundance in Kerala). It is often eaten as a part of a banquet in celebration of a marriage, birthday or birth.
Kitchen Garden Program members can access even more global recipe inspiration from this curriculum-linked global cuisine activity guide, suitable for Years 3 to 6.
Table talk
Food is deeply connected to culture, geography, and history. Engaging students in discussions about where different dishes come from and how landscapes shape local cuisines is a great way to encourage curiosity and respect for different cultures.
Here are some discussion questions to try:
- How does the climate influence what ingredients are grown in a particular country?
- What role do natural landmarks, like coastlines or mountains, play in shaping cuisine?
- How have trade routes influenced food traditions?
- How many ingredients can you spot in the kitchen garden?
Whether you’re planning a feast with orange-inspired ingredients or exploring global cuisines, Harmony Day is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate diversity through food. Let’s grow, harvest, prepare and share together!
This publicly available global recipe collection was developed to support our VicHealth partnership. The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation has partnered with VicHealth to ensure more young Victorians can develop lifelong skills and confidence in cooking and gardening through preventative, positive food education and the Kitchen Garden Program.
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