ASF Audit’s first A Taste of Harmony celebration

We caught up with Loredana Pietrosanti an auditor at ASF Audits, to learn about how their office celebrated A Taste of Harmony.

Why did your organisation choose to take part in A Taste of Harmony? How did it come about?

Our office is made of a diverse range of cultures from around the world, and most of us are massive foodies who love to talk all things food. After hearing about the event from another office, we thought this would be an excellent opportunity for us to show off our culture’s fantastic food but also a great excuse for us to eat!

How long has your organisation been participating in A Taste of Harmony?

This was our first year participating in the event, but given its success, it will definitely become an annual calendar event.

Describe what your A Taste of Harmony event typically looks like.

Our event consisted of a large boardroom table FULL of delicious food from all over the world, a variety of both sweet and savoury. We set up the room with different flags to get in the spirit of the event. We also had enough leftovers to last us for days!

What impact has A Taste of Harmony had on your organisation?

The event brought us closer together as a team by sharing our love for food. It allowed for a greater understanding of our multi-cultural workplace by giving us an insight into what home life is like for each other. The event is still talked about in the office, with many of us sharing light-hearted banter and feedback about each other’s cooking’s skills.

In what ways do you celebrate cultural diversity in your workplace (aside from A Taste of Harmony)?

We participate in other events, including, Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, where a lot of us bring food from our cultures. My co-work Mary has Greek heritage, she brings in her famous kataifi, the whole office loves her cooking. We celebrate cultural events like Chinese New Year, in which the office goes out for dinner to an Asian restaurant. These events are much looked forward to throughout the year. We also love to see what others bring in for lunch each day and often find us exchanging recipes from our cultures and family traditions in the tea room.

What tips do you have for other organisations interested in hosting a successful A Taste of Harmony event?

I would encourage everyone to participate in the event, it’s so much fun! Putting up posters around the office helps to create awareness about the event, giving the team enough time and reminders to think about and prepare for what they are going to bring –the more food there is, the better the event!

A Taste of Harmony is an excellent way to celebrate cultural diversity. To find out more about how you can organise an event for your workplace, join our mailing list and follow us on LinkedIn.