One Big Table welcomed everyone to share a meal to benefit Literacy Pittsburgh
Share this post:
Viviana Altieri stretched curds in hot water.
She rolled the mozzarella into balls, submerged them in ice cold water and formed them them into nodini, which are tiny knots, before placing them on plates for guests.
Fresh mozzarella was one of numerous food items at Monday’s One Big Table: An International Tasting event at Stage AE on Pittsburgh’s North Shore.
[gps-image name=”6006789_web1_PTR-OneTable-9.jpg”]
Proceeds benefit the programs of Literacy Pittsburgh, headquartered in Downtown Pittsburgh, which has several locations. Literacy Pittsburgh offers English language learning, digital literacy, career planning, GED preparation and immigrant and refugee support for adults and families.
“When you can’t speak the language, you become isolated,” said Altieri, who moved to Pittsburgh from Rome, Italy, in 1993. “You could have a great career in your country, but if you can’t communicate (when you come to a new country) then it makes things more difficult. This is an important mission.”
When Altieri arrived in Pittsburgh, she knew some English. It took her two years “before I felt that I had conquered the language and re-established my real identity of a full person in English,” she said.
Through an internship at Global Pittsburgh in Oakland, she learned the language. Global Pittsburgh engages with people from other cultures to learn their customs and values and help correct misconceptions they may have about American culture. Altieri, of Regent Square, said he and her husband discovered Literacy Pittsburgh and became tutors as way to pay it forward.
Altieri’s Istituto Mondo Italiano was one of 20 internationally-themed restaurants from Western Pennsylvania at the event for 400 guests.
“We are all so much richer when we welcome people from different cultures,” said Literacy Pittsburgh CEO Carey A. Harris. “Food is a common thread that connects us.”
Board president and Lawrenceville resident Steve Sokoloski co-chaired the event with husband Derick Stalker.
“Food opens up conversations,” said Sokoloski. “I have such a passion for what this organization does, and this is away to show people what we do.”
Literacy Pittsburgh helps exposes all of us to other cultures, said Beth Marcello, who attended the event with John Rodella. The couple from South Side Slopes said the food was wonderful.
“I like to eat,’ said Rodella. “And they never run out of food at this event.”
Tamarind, an Indian restaurant in Cranberry, was serving naan, vegetable korma, chicken tikka masala, rice and sweet chili sauce. Manager Mani Baskar, chef Muthu Petchi and assistant chef Suresh Veeragavan said they wanted to be part of the evening to get some exposure for the restaurant.
“We also want to be part of this city,” Baskar said.
[gps-image name=”6006789_web1_PTR-OneTable-10.jpg”]
So does Natalie Manjeen, who owns Took Took 98 in Squirrel Hill and The 98 in Fox Chapel.
“I love the snow in Pittsburgh,” said Manjeen, who grew up in Bangkok, Thailand. “I wanted to be here tonight because I wanted to participate with everybody else.”
Kay Stewart of Munhall, who owns House of Soul in Whitaker, offered jerk barbecue chicken wings, baked macaroni and cheese and Southern green beans. “It’s important to give back,” she said.
There was an open bar for beer and wine, a Pittsburgh cookie table with several varieties and an artisan market. Vendor Penny Lang of Lenny Pang Designs of Braddock Hills has taught GED classes for Literacy Pittsburgh. She creates collage notebooks, cards and bookmarks.
“You see such a difference from when they start a class to when they finish,” Lang said. “They leave with so much confidence.”
[gps-image name=”6006789_web1_PTR-OneTable-5.jpg”]
Entertainment was provided by DJ Arie Cole, Urban Africans, Organization of Chinese Americans Pittsburgh, and Performance Ensembles Zang TKD.
This was the fourth annual event (there were no events in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic) and first time it was held at Stage AE.
Altieri has participated in all of them.
“Literacy Pittsburgh is here for so many people who come to this country,” she said. “We are all grateful.”