10 | FALL 2026 EDIBLE CENTRAL OREGON Ifyou want people to engage with material you’re sharing, feed them. Well, what if the food IS the lesson? The “language in action” program of Bend Language Institute (BLI) provides this opportunity through a series of food-and-language experiences, such as The Way of Sake on September 26. Co-taught by Talking Cheese founder Teri Tith (you may recognize her from the Market of Choice cheese counter) and BLI Japanese language instructor Chieko Saito, this 90-minute class incorporates sake and cheese pairings with teaching essential Japanese phrases. While it might sound unusual to pair sake with dairy, Tith says that sake is actually much more compatible with food than wine because it is generally lower in acidity and completely absent of tannins. Quoting one of her own sake mentors, she says, “Sake doesn’t get in a food fight.” Tith is a Certified Cheese Professional—yes, that’s a thing—and holds level 3 and 2 certificates in wine and Japanese sake, respectively, from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. Expect to discover delicious flavor combinations while you learn Japanese phrases from native speaker and longtime instructor Saito. These workshops enable students to absorb language in an informal environment, which benefits adult language learners who may have been discouraged by previous classroom experiences. “Perhaps there has been an overemphasis on grades, written assignments without context, or getting the ‘right’ answer,” says BLI founder and Italian teacher Christina Cappy, PhD. “Language is so much more dynamic than that; it is meant to be used in context…. So being able to learn bits of a language within a specific context is not only practical, but helps the things you learn really stick with you.” Plus, says Cappy, “Food is fun!” Pass the cheese, please. The Way of Sake, September 26, 4–5:30pm at JIA Asian Street Kitchen. Registration is limited to 20 people and closes on September 19. bendlanguageinstitute.com Eat, Drink, Repeat After Me Bend Language Institute workshop pairs sake, cheese, and Japanese language Photos courtesy of Bend Language Institute Above from left: Doris Kunselman (German & French), Michela Sodomaco (Italian), Lindsey Bakos (Associate Director & English), Christina Cappy (Founder & Italian), Joshua Savage (Spanish), Chieko Saito (Japanese). Words by Rebekah Altman
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