Interview Joost

Welcoming, creative and lowkey.

Having a good mix between new faces and Flow veterans means bringing in both new, fresh ideas and the skills and abilities to bring them to fruition. Coming up with and brainstorming about where the theme of nthe ew activity will go is always a joy, ranging from countries to holidays or even other Flow activities. Our Food Committee is a rather relaxed committee, giving all of us having more than enough time to focus on our already busy lives. As such, we have been able to keep things pretty stress-free.

The Food Committee is a committee where creating good vibes is our central focus. Whether it’s creating an inviting and delicious smelling Flow room, setting up a place where people can sober up after a Flow-drink, or organizing get-togethers between teachers and students, having a space that feels warm and welcoming is what we are all about.

At least once a month, we will either organize a Tasty Thursday, a day to throw out a broad invite to the entirety of Flow to come to the Flow room to sit, eat some deliciously prepared dishes, and relax at a themed hangout. Our second option is to organize a Hangover Brunch following a Flow party to help offset the fatigue from the prior night.

There’s, of course, room for free activities as well. Thus, this year we also organized the End-of-Year Barbecue, where teachers and students from different departments came together to chat, connect, and enjoy food fresh from the grills.

We are mostly the facilitators for the activities, not really taking centre stage. You’ll find us either still preparing food or simply sitting and talking along, as the preparation of the activity is where we’ll be busiest.

I’ve been enjoying it a lot! Having great members in our committee meant that we could simply delegate tasks and know it would be done when we needed it. There isn’t a huge contrast between being a member of the Food committee and being the commissioner, the only differences being preparing the meetings, being part of the General Board, and, of course, the responsibility.

I think the existence of a committee that focuses on bringing people together without external pressure is a great addition to our cast of committees. It allows for conversations and meetups between people who might otherwise not interact. I think it’s an incredibly healthy committee to have within an association, as it helps strengthen people’s connections and social circles.

The Study Trip one! Making a bunch of recipes from previous year’s Study Trip locations, including this year’s, was amazing. Representing each country with meals people hadn’t eaten before was a treat. Using that moment to reminisce about the stories we have collected over the course of those trips made the food taste that much better. (Better than it already did, of course.)

Everyone in our committee is incredibly busy this year. Meetings and bondings may take weeks to plan, and not all our members may be able to attend our activities. Luckily, a lot of these issues can be remedied with enough preparation, and even with a smaller crew, we could keep things running smoothly.

Honestly, an event in the style of a bake-off would be incredible. Renting a space with a couple of counter tops and ovens, appointing judges, and watching as teams of Flow’ers scramble to bake and cook more and more insane dishes. Seeing that chaos unfold is a dream I would love to see come true.