World Language Week: Appreciating Spanish culture with Lorca Coffee Bar

Natalie Dosmond, Editor-in-Chief|March 10, 2021

For this year’s World Language Week, Sacred Heart Greenwich students from the Chinese, Spanish, French, and Arabic classes shared their work in the foreign language that they study.

For this year’s World Language Week, Sacred Heart Greenwich students from the Chinese, Spanish, French, and Arabic classes shared a piece of work in the foreign language that they study. Sophomore Ana López del Punta, Staff Writer and AP Spanish Language and Culture student, wrote this article about the founder of Lorca Coffee Bar visiting the Spanish I and V classes over Zoom, during which they learned how to make churros.

Sra. Jenkins, fundadora y la dueña del café Lorca en Stamford, Connecticut, visitó a las estudiantes de las clases de español I y V a través de la plataforma virtual Zoom el pasado 26 de febrero. En esta visita, ella les enseñó a las estudiantes cómo cocinar churros así como la importancia de esta comida tradicional en su cultura nativa de España.

Ms. Jenkins, founder of Lorca Coffee Bar, shows Spanish V students how to make churros. Courtesy of Ms. Christina Monaco

Sra. Jenkins nació y se crió en Granada, una ciudad situada en el sur de España. Aunque luego se mudó a los Estados Unidos, la señora Jenkins no abandonó su cultura española. Además de preservar su identidad, ella también logró compartir su cultura con otras personas a través de comidas típicas.

En el invierno del 2012, Sra. Jenkins abrió el café Lorca, llamado así por el célebre poeta español Federico García Lorca. Allí vende una variedad de postres y bebidas, si bien su local es más conocido por sus deliciosos churros.

Antes de cocinar con las estudiantes a través de Zoom, Sra. Jenkins les relató la historia del misterioso origen de este dulce tradicional. Las estudiantes aprendieron los ingredientes necesarios para crear churros, así cómo hacer la masa y freírlos. Al concluir su presentación, los estudiantes pudieron disfrutar de los churros, puesto que Sra. Garcia les trajo churros con salsa de chocolate de Lorca a sus estudiantes. Con esta presentación las estudiantes tuvieron la oportunidad de aprender más sobre la cultura española y apreciar la importancia de un postre tan tradicional como son los churros.

Students in the Spanish V class try the Lorca Coffee Bar churros after the presentation. Courtesy of Ms. Christina Monaco

Una de las estudiantes que toma la clase de español V, Nina Ferrucci, estudiante de último año, tiene una empresa de horneado de magdalenas. Después de la visita de Sra Jenkins, Nina preparó magdalenas inspiradas por los churros de Lorca. Nina dijo que la presentación de la Sra. Jenkins le dio más confianza en sí misma como emprendedora.

“El trabajo de la Sra. Jenkins me inspiró mucho, especialmente su historia sobre cómo se convirtió en una empresaria exitosa,” dijo Nina. “Ella puso tiempo y esfuerzo, lo que transformó su idea de una pequeña tienda de churro en un negocio. Me da confianza en mis habilidades empresariales.”

Ms. Jenkins, founder and owner of Lorca Cafe in Stamford, Connecticut, visited the students in Spanish I and V classes through the virtual platform Zoom February 26. During this visit, she taught the students how to make churros as well as the importance of this traditional food in native Spanish culture.

Ms. Jenkins was born and raised in Granada, a city located in southern Spain. Although she later moved to the United States, Ms. Jenkins did not abandon her Spanish culture. In addition to preserving her identity, she also managed to share her culture with other people through typical foods.

In the winter of 2012, Ms. Jenkins opened Lorca Coffee Bar, named for the famous Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. The cafe sells a variety of desserts and drinks, but it is best known for its delicious churros.

Nina Ferrucci ’21 made churro-inspired cupcakes after the founder of Lorca, Ms. Jenkins, spoke to her Spanish class. Courtesy of Nina Ferrucci ’21

Before cooking with the students via Zoom, Ms. Jenkins told the story of the mysterious origin of this traditional sweet. The students learned the ingredients needed to create churros, as well as how to make the dough and fry them. At the end of their presentation, the students were able to enjoy the churros as Mrs. Garcia brought the churros with the Lorca chocolate sauce for her students to try. With this presentation, the students had the opportunity to learn more about Spanish culture and appreciate the importance of such a traditional dessert as churros.

One of the students taking the Spanish V class, senior Nina Ferrucci runs a cupcake-making business. After Ms. Jenkins’ visit, Nina made cupcakes inspired by Lorca’s churros. Nina said that Ms. Jenkins’ presentation gave her more confidence as an entrepreneur.

“Ms. Jenkins’ work inspired me a lot, especially her story of how she became a successful businesswoman,” Nina said. “She put in time and effort, which transformed her idea of a small churro shop into a business. It gives me confidence in my entrepreneurial skills.”

The King Street Chronicle thanks sophomore Ana López del Punta ’23 and Mrs. Montserrat Garcia, Upper School World Language Teacher and Network Exchange Coordinator, for their contributions.

Featured Image by Natalie Dosmond ’21