On a rainy Friday afternoon, a small group of students and faculty from the French Department gathered in the Unity House kitchen to bake Madeleines, a spongecake-like French pastry with origins from the Lorraine region of France. This event, which was held on Oct. 2, was a part of a series of French-themed events hosted by this year’s French language fellows, Alexis Cheney ’16 and Lena Mininberg ’17.
“We had a meeting with the head of the French Department, Professor Nathalie Etoke. She told us that Professor Benjamin Williams of the Department liked to bake. I met with Professor Williams to talk to him about my honors thesis and baking. He mentioned making Madeleines because they were easy to make and he had the right baking pan,” said Cheney. [Editor’s Note: Baking Madeleines requires a special kind of cooking mould that gives the cookies their unique scalloped shape.] “Laura Little of the Language and Culture Center bought the ingredients for the Madeleines,” said Cheney.
The event proved to be the perfect setting for the attendants to get to know each other as well as Professor Williams, who joined Connecticut College in 2015. “We listened to French music and spoke in French. We also talked about the various French accents that exist throughout the world, and how some of us preferred to use our American accents when speaking in French,” said Cheney.
Many of those at the event shared Cheney’s enjoyment of such a laid-back setting. French and International Relations double major Kate Sullivan ’16 said, “I went to the event because I really like to bake and I like to be a part of the French Department events as much as possible. It is definitely nice to see and talk to professors in a more relaxed environment.”
Cheney and Mininberg plan to host more French-centered events this semester, like a salon where students can talk about current events, a wine and cheese mixer and a “francophile” study abroad fair for prospective students. •
