International Diners Club

Welcome to the International Diners Club! 

Navigation Table: 

• This Month's Menu Spotlight
• What is the International Diners Club? 
• How can I set up my own local International Diners Club? 
• Menus from Europe
• Menus from Asia
• Menus from Africa
• Menus from South America
• Menus from Zealandia
• Holiday Menus

What is the International Diners Club? 

During the pandemic, we all began asking ourselves what we can do to keep AFS members engaged. In response, one team created a virtual diners club—here’s how it works.

Each month you choose a country and set a menu including a starter, entrée, sides, and a dessert. The idea is to learn about the culture and styles of cooking around the world. All recipes are made from scratch, including doughs, pasta, sauces, fillings, etc. People can choose to make as few or as many as they have the time for before the monthly call.

Everyone takes pictures of the dishes, and family members that helped, etc. and if they like, they can share it all on Facebook or other social media sites, to build awareness of intercultural exchange and AFS. After, hop on a scheduled zoom call to discuss the experience and success of the dishes. On the call everyone votes on the next country, and it starts all over the following month.

How can I set up my own local International Diners Club? 

Here are the steps you can take to start a club in your chapter, team, region or maybe just a group of friends.

1. Pick a country from the International Diners Club section in Help & Learning.
2. Select a date for the Zoom call.
3. Create a Google Form for the registration.
4. Create an email invite, including the link to the recipes and a link to register for the Zoom call.
5. Check in once during the month to encourage participation. (Sign up if you haven’t, be sure to post pics on Facebook, invite a friend, etc.)
6. 24-48 hours before the time for the call, send an email with the Zoom link for the call to the people that registered to join that call. (If you are experiencing limited attendance, consider sending a reminder email with the link the day of the call, a few hours before the meeting time, to ensure the Zoom link is at the top of their inbox.)
7. When holding the call, you may want to use the menu as a discussion guide to move through the items, but once your group is more established you won’t feel the need to control the direction of the conversation.
8. Be sure to vote on the next country before ending the call. You can set up a poll in Zoom with the choices listed so it feels more anonymous.

We'll be adding new countries' recipes each month, so check back soon! Click each link below to see the recipes and learn more about each country and its culinary practices and history. 

This Month's Menu Spotlight: 

Menu for Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. It is bordered by China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan was on the silk road opening up trade routes to the far east.

The food culture is shared by its neighbors as well as Russian influence. Traditionally staple foods include meat, vegetables, rice, bread & tea. Tea is drunk throughout the country with the southern region preferring green tea while the north drinks more black tea. Atkanchay is a traditional Kyrgyz tea made with milk, salt, and sometimes other ingredients like sour cream, butter and sesame seeds. The name translates to “cooked tea” and is usually drunk for breakfast.

Asia 

Africa

Europe

South America & Central America

Zealandia

Holiday Menus