International House Leuven

Saturday evening, a courtyard off the Tiensevest, long tables under the trees and bunting strung through the branches. The idea is a simple one and quite lovely: bring one dish from wherever you are from, and share it with people you have not met.

We brought baklava, and rather more Turkish sweets than two people could reasonably carry, from Al Taj on the Kolonel Begaultlaan.

What came back at us was couscous, a quiche, a Turkish cheese burek, vegan chocolate waffles, a Basque cheesecake, and a pea soup that was somehow sweet and that we are still arguing about.

This is the International House Leuven, and it exists for a reason. More than 22,000 people here were born somewhere else, from 166 countries. Two people run the place full time. Everything else is done by over a hundred volunteers.

Saturday closed their Taste of Home project: a printed map of 23 shops across the city selling the ingredients you grew up on, grouped by region, from the Diestsestraat out to Kessel-Lo. Free at the House. We only worked out afterwards that Al Taj is number 17 on it.

The map is designed and created by @catchysights, which is Ipek’s mum’s. She moved here from Turkey about ten years ago and built a brand around the city she had just arrived in, making every collection with a local artist. This one she made with illustrator Yui Watanabe. So no, we were never going to be objective about it. We took one home anyway.

The night finished with a band, a crafting corner for the children, and two tutors running a salsa lesson while the whole courtyard swapped partners in the last of the light. We stood at the edge holding our plates and did not join in. Saving our moves for next year.

Summer potluck, once a year, register through their Meetup
Bring a dish. They mean it.

Which shop on that map should we go to first?

Where Tiensevest 60, 3000 Leuven · @internationalhouseleuven