Try The World is about exploring the world through food. It’s also about bringing people together and learning about new cultures. In this brand new column, we showcase the amazing ways that you—our amazing community of fellow food lovers—use your box. This month, Try The World’s Social Media Manager, Diego León, speaks to Tara Gray, a teacher in Northampton, Pennsylvania, who hosts dinner parties with her friends and family using the items from Try The World boxes.
I think I read a review on Facebook—it was totally out of the blue! As a teacher, I always keep learning; it’s just the way I am. I like to try different things and go to different places, so I thought, “this will be fun! I’ll get a box and try it.”
What a lucky turn of events! What did you think when you received your first box?
When I opened the box, I had this idea of hosting a dinner party, so I took pictures of various portions of the Culture Guide and sent them to my friends so that they would know which ingredients they could use to make various dishes. We kind divided up what we wanted to do and all came up with a plan.
I love how you instantly had the idea of hosting a dinner party. How else did you integrate the cultural aspect of the box into these first gatherings?
One of my teacher-friend’s daughters adds the recommended playlist to her MP3 player and brings that to the dinner. Then we pick out a movie (usually on either Netflix or Amazon Prime). We even dress up a little bit. We just make a night of it!
That sounds like a fun night! What happened after receiving that first box?
Everybody really had a good time, so I suggested that we all go in together on a year subscription. They all thought that idea was great, so the next box was the Morocco Box! I loved the kefta rub that was in it. After that, we had an Argentina Box dinner—that was probably the best one so far. We’re getting ready to have a Spain one, too.
How have the dinners evolved over time?
Since receiving the Paris Box, I’ve developed this close little group of friends. There are about four or five of us, including three other teachers, my mom, and my brother-in-law. One of my friends has a couple kids and another is married, and sometimes these people come to the dinners too, so sometimes we are about 10. Everyone in this little group seems to always end up at my house!
Anything else you love about the box?
I adore the boxes because they look really nice and I can store things in them! My classroom has camera equipment and all kinds of things, so oodles and oodles of storage is always a plus.
