Lumpiang Shanghai, Greek Spanakopita, Scones for Sofi, Vegetarian Lighter Lasagna, and Head of School Mr. Ron Kim’s Korean Ragu all have one thing in common: they are all recipes in the newest edition of The Bishop’s School Cookbook. The Parents Association (PA) created the book to raise funds for their programs.
Fond memories of loved ones and decades of family tradition make up the stories behind these delicious recipes.
The first recipe in the cookbook is Cranberry Bread submitted by Dr. Wendy Gibbons, the current PA President, and mother of Caitlin Hendricks (‘18), TJ Gibbons (‘26), and Brooke Gibbons (‘29). For the inspiration for this dish, she said, “My great-grandmother handed the recipe down to my grandmother, then to my aunt. It was a handwritten recipe that I found with all of my aunt’s cookbooks after she passed. I thought it was really special, so I wanted to share it.”
Athena Georgiou (‘29) submitted a dish called Greek Spanakopita, which is inspired by her grandparent’s Greek culture and heritage. She submitted the recipe in honor of them. Being a vegetarian, Athena said that Greek Spanakopita is one of her favorite dishes to eat. She also said, “I’ve made it a lot of times before and we usually use store-bought phyllo pastry, a butter spread, a mix of cheese, and diced-up spinach. [Then you] fold it diagonally because that’s how you make all of the filing stay in there.”
Director of Admissions and Financial Aid and parent of Caz Mallick (‘26), Ms. Vivien Mallick, submitted her mom’s Lumpiang Shanghai recipe, more commonly known as Pork Lumpia. She makes it exactly how her mom taught her for special occasions or as a “charm” to thank people. “I grew up making Lumpia ever since I could walk. I would help my mom cook in the kitchen [and] I think my mom’s Lumpia are the best things I’ve ever tasted,” she said, laughing.
Ms. Mallick described her Lumpia as, “crispy, meaty, delicious, and crunchy.” She mentioned that for this year’s Gala, she offered a make-your-own Lumpia class at Mr. Kim’s house. This year’s June 2nd class sold out before the Gala even occurred. She said, “It was fun because I’ve never done a cooking class but I’ve always wanted to be one of those TV chefs.”
From Asian to American cuisine, Director of Marketing and Communications Ms. Cathy Morrison lived in Fargo, North Dakota at one point because of her husband’s job and she used this midwestern influence as an inspiration for her EASY Brunch Casserole. She altered the original recipe she got from a woman in her community, which was a little healthier than Ms. Morrison’s. Since then, she’s added her own adaptations like “pre-grated cheese and bacon bits. We just started doing it and it has become a holiday tradition for our family.”
She said that her kids “love it and there’s never leftovers…I picked one I could make without looking at the recipe anymore. I’m not the best cook in the world, so it is something my family likes and looks forward to.”
Another breakfast item alongside Ms. Morrison’s Casserole was Banana Nut Bread submitted by Receptionist Ms. Kimberly Borgerding. She mentioned that the original recipe was “a little too basic” so she added vanilla and cinnamon. Additionally, she noted that “instead of putting butter, [she puts] in margarine so if someone is vegan or lactose intolerant, you can eat it.”
Scones for Sofi use almost the same ingredients as Ms. Borgerding’s Banana Nut Bread, such as beaten eggs, vanilla extract, granulated/white sugar, and all-purpose flour. Scones for Sofi may sound like a creative name for a recipe, but what makes it even more unique is the inspiration behind the name. According to Morgan Stoefen (‘24), whose mom is Ms. Nora Stoefen, she named the recipe Scones for Sofi because “my good friend Sofi Verma (‘24) once had the chance to try them and she loved them so my mom would make them for her sometimes hence the name Scones for Sofi.”
Mr. Kim submitted his Ron Kim’s Korean Ragu dish because it’s one of the few dishes that he knows how to make. He found the recipe in the New York Times and liked it because it’s healthy and it goes a long way. He also said, “It was a fusion dish, it had Gochujang, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. I was able to do my own twist on it, like adding kale and soft tofu, which adds a little bit of texture to it.”
He makes it if his kids are home and if he is going to have a busy week, he prepares it over the weekend. He later said, “It is a little spicy, the closest thing is like a Mapo Tofu except it’s a more Gochujang base…For the recipe book, I had to put in measurements but I got to the point where I was just doing it by taste so I had to go back and figure out how much of this I need to put in.”
These additions and twists Mr. Kim added, were the reasons why he submitted this one. Mr. Kim said, “I thought this was the most interesting one, people don’t want my fried rice dish, they don’t want my lasagna recipe, so I might as well do something that you can’t search up on the internet.”
Despite the ease of finding a Lasagna recipe on the internet, Ms. Juliana Abraham, parent of Safina Abraham (‘25) and Serena Abraham (‘27) submitted a recipe for Vegetarian Lighter Lasagna because “it’s so delicious and also healthy. It takes all day to make but it is so worth it. I haven’t met a person who doesn’t like lasagne so I figured it would be a good addition to The Bishop’s School Cookbook,” she said.
Cooking for Ms. Abraham brings back memories of when her family lived in Washington D.C. She said, “We built our community of friends around cooking together and for one another. We always ate delicious food together and are still all good friends. So, there is something truly significant about how sharing food brings us together and builds community, which is why I love this community cookbook so much.”
This idea of community was a reason why Mr. Kim loved the idea of a Bishop’s cookbook. He said, “[They] are in so many ways a collection of what people and the community love.” Ms. Mallick mentioned community and cookbooks “show how different families celebrate special occasions.”
The Bishop’s cookbook brought together the many different cultures represented at Bishop’s while also bringing in a profit for the PA. Dr. Gibbons said that the money goes to the PA budget “to support our events for students, faculty, and staff – like the Grade-Level Snacks and Employee Appreciation events.”
The Parents’ Association annually holds a Used Book Sale at the beginning of the year. Used textbooks are collected at the end of the year and then sold as a sustainable and cost-saving fundraiser. However, Dr. Gibbons pointed out that “a lot of textbooks have gone to digital format, so the number of textbooks we are getting back to resell is decreasing.” The cookbook has helped to offset the loss of revenue from the Used Book Sales.
All of the hard work and dedication that Ms. Amy Han, Co-Editor of The Bishop’s Cookbook and Parent of Sydney Mafong (‘26) and Ellie Mafong (‘29), and Ms. Cami Rosso, the Executive Co-Editor and Co-Chair of The Bishop’s Cookbook, Parents’ Association Vice President of Events for 2023-24, and parent of Cameron Rosso (‘27) put into this cookbook is demonstrated through the excitement of Bishop’s faculty in making recipes from this cookbook.
Dr. Gibbons hopes to “get back into cooking” over the summer and try yummy recipes like Ms. Mallick’s pork Lumpia. She said, “There are dishes from other cultures that I’ve always enjoyed but didn’t know how to make. I’m hoping to try more of those out.” Current PA Treasurer and parent of Henry Hou (‘29) and James Hou (‘23), Ms. Shu Fan, also knew that whenever she wanted to cook something that was “really interesting and fun [yet] easy to follow,” she could take inspiration from the cookbook.
Despite not having the chance to cook a recipe, Ms. Morrison definitely will use it for inspiration when she wants to cook something new. She mentioned that “there was one PA meeting where everybody brought in their dish and so I got to sample all of the dishes and they were so tasty and wonderful.”
Hoping to add variation to his cooking abilities, Mr. Kim when he has time over the summer “would crack the cookbook open and try a few” recipes. An avid cookbook collector, Ms. Mallick also mentioned that given her busy work schedule, she will “try and experiment” with recipes over the summer.
Similarly, Ms. Borgerding also enjoys making things out of the current Bishop’s cookbook, but she’s always made a Chinese Chicken salad recipe from the old edition of the cookbook. She said, “I love the recipe. It is really easy and delicious and we used to have a lot of potlucks here with the faculty that worked over the summer. I would always make this dish and everybody loved it.”
“The Bishop’s School Cookbook is my go-to place for home cooking and entertaining,” said Ms. Rosso, which summed up everyone’s sentiments.
In the end, Dr. Gibbons hopes that once people read or cooked recipes in the Bishop’s cookbook, people “could go and look up a recipe from your friend or a teacher and read about what that recipe meant to them and then try it out. It would be something fun, [for example], if I made a recipe that Mr. Kim made, it would be a good conversation starter.”
Ms. Fan also hopes that the cookbook “is a glue that glues this community together. Bishop’s culture and school identity can be not very tangible but with the cookbook in your hands, you can feel a very tightly bonded community.”
