82-Uncasttr Farming, Saturday, July 19,1986
International Tea Room Offers Foods From Other Cultures
BY SALLY BAIR
Lancaster Co. Correspondent
EPHRATA - Part of the joy of
traveling to a foreign country is
tasting new and unusual foods. It is
possible, however, to enjoy foods
like shikumchce taeng-jang soup
and pancet-gusado without leaving
the country or traveling to a big
city.
The Nav Jiwan International
Tea Room offers these and other
international dishes on a regular
basis. The tea room, whose name
means “new life,’’ allows
customers to experience foods of
another culture in a relaxing,
rather exotic atmosphere.
Open since 1962, the tea room has
been operating in its present form
for only about two years. It is
located just north of Ephrata along
Route 272 in the Self-Help store,
operated by the Mennonite Central
Committee.
The Mennonite Self-Help store
features items from 30 countries
throughout the world, and in itself
is somewhat exotic. With the
opening of the restaurant for
breakfast and lunches, the in
ternational atmosphere is ex
panded.
Paul Leatherman, director of the
store, the tea room and the
wholesale division of Self-Help,
explains that they wanted to have
their customers experience the
different smells and tastes of the
Third World. To do this, the
restaurant menus are coordinated
with the rest of the shop. If the shop
is featuring a particular country,
Attractive centerpieces add to the exotic atmosphere in the
international tea room. All the pieces used in the decor are for
sale in the shop itself. Most of the furniture is antique and
fresh flowers add to the pleasant atmosphere.
This sign jn helps bring in customers to . tea room by
telling the public which country is being featured. Usually the
featured country coincides with a promotion in the shop itself.
the restaurant will feature the
meals of that country.
The featured country in the
restaurant changes weekly. The
decor changes monthly, featuring
handicrafts which are sold in the
store. They are displayed on the
nany antiques and on the walls of
die small restaurant.
Leatherman noted that in the
month of June wicker was featured
in the store, so menus came from
thq Philippines and Bangladesh
and other countries which market
wicker products. The week of July
21 will feature food from In
donesia, and July 28, from Viet
nam.
Leatherman says, with
somewhat of an understatement,
“The tea room offers a unique and
unusual atmosphere.”
The restaurant is operated with
a combination of paid staff and
MCC volunteers. The manager of
the restaurant is Alverta Martin,
who responds to the challenge of
creating interesting food which
will be appealing to the American
taste. She came to the tea room
with 12 years’ experience
operating her own restaurant at
Meadowbrook Market which
featured more traditional
American food. She says she is
enjoying the change of pace and
philosophy, and finds herself
serving unusual foods when she
entertains.
She notes, “We use almost all
fresh vegetables. Most of our
customers really enjoy the food,
and we see a lot of people coming
L 2
Ss6Pi
Toni Peters, center, an MCC volunteer from Canada, serves Alverta Martin and
Leatherman an entree from the Philippines. The decor of the restaurant is cha
mostly to reflect the area of the world being featured
back ”
Recipes come from a wide
variety of sources, but many are
contributed by Mennonite Central
Committee workers who have
lived in foreign lands. Often these
workers will also return with
cookbooks, which Alverta peruses
tc find new dishes.
Leatherman, who himself
travels a great deal in seeking out
potential sources for handcrafted
items, says, “The MCC has
workers in 50 countries and we all
have our favorite recipes or things
we like, and we bring that back
with us.”
There are some concessions
made to local tastes. Leatherman
notes, “American tastes are dif
ferent, and while we want foods to
be authentic, they must also be
acceptable to the American public.
We must be able to sell to people
here what they like. Our dishes
must be within acceptable bounds
to our palates.”
In some cases this means
lessening the spices. While this is
disappointing to natives of those
countries, most Americans cannot
handle the fully spiced food of
some foreign countries.
Leatherman states, “We have
found that the hotter the weather of
a country, the hotter the food.” He
says Pakistan is a country which
uses a lot of spices in cooking. He
laughingly recalls a visit to In
donesia where he stayed in a guest
house which served local food.
After a week he commented to his
hosts that the food seemed to be
getting spicier. The host explained
that they had purposely cut back
on the amount of spices, increasing
them slowly. He commented that
in about three weeks the food
would be spiced to the taste of
natives!
To find the appropriate foods and
spices, Martin uses an Indian food
store in Akron and an oriental shop
in Lancaster.
Leatherman notes, “We are
specifically not competing with
anyone else around. We offer a
different sort of experience, and
we try to keep it quite unique.”
Indeed, served along with the
food is a pamphlet describing the
country being featured, as well as
a sheet explaining just what is in
the featured recipes.
For those less adventuresome,
the menu offers a few more
traditional foods, including a
child’s plate. Martin explains that
all foods are selected with thought
to good nutrition at low cost. They
tend to use the Third World eating
patterns of small amounts of meat.
Hence you will find a fruit and
cheese plate as well as a bread and
fruit plate. Fresh fruit drinks are
offered as well. And the cost for
any item on the limited menu is
extremely reasonable. been good, but people are still
Breakfast has been a fairly discovering it. Some visitors are
recent addition to the restaurant, customers of the store, lured by the
and there is slightly less emphasis wonderful smells coming from the
on the Third World in those menus, kitchen. Some are natives of a
Recent offerings included almond featured country, eager to taste
French toast and bacon quiche and some food from their own ex
fruit. perience. And many visitors
Response to the restaurant has (Turn to Page B 4)
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A Word About Self Help...
The Mennonite store is operated on a
Self Help program is non-profit, self-support
celebrating its 40th year ing basis,
in 1986, providing a He makes it very
marketing outlet for clear that the Self Help
products from 30 store is not an ordinary
countries around the gift shop. “We are here
world. for the benefit of the
Self Help store producers, not just to
director Paul have the best gift shop.
Leatherman explains, We want to be sure that
“We help to sell what neither the producer nor
craftsmen in other the customer is taken
countries make. We pay advantage of. Our
them at the time they motivation is to help
are made, and the people make a living
producers receive an who otherwise couldn’t
adequate wage based on make a living. ’ ’
the local economy.” Among the continuing
Presently the best sellers in the shop
Self Help program is are carved wood and
touching the full-time brass from India,
equivalent of 16,200 Creche sets are also
people. However, since very popular, according
many of the workers to Leatherman. He
make the crafts part adds, “We have a lot of
time, Leatherman very unique items.”
estimates that the They also carry a wide
program touches about variety of oriental rugs.
V« million people, He said that the store
allowing them to make always looks different
money to help care for because of changes in
themselves. items being offered or
The Self Help program featured. Furthermore,
buys directly from the he said he is always
producers, eliminating getting requests from
the middle man. countries with ad-
Leatherman said they ditional items to sell.
are able to keep their The Self Help shop
costs low because two offers an unusual
thirds of the staff shopping experience,
consists of volunteers. and combined with a
“We can pay more for visit to the tea room, an
an item and still be international at
competitive because of mosphere without
the volunteers.” The leaving home.
Paul
mged