Seniors Elen Akopyan (left) and Kristina Urfalyan (right) pose for a photo at their George Page Apartment on March 26. Urfalyan taught Akopyan her Manti recipe. Photo by Melissa Houston
At a dorm room tucked into the northwest corner of Pepperdine’s George Page Apartments, students step into a slice of home.
Senior Kristina Urfalyan grew up cooking traditional Armenian dishes. Now that she’s a student at Pepperdine, she invites her fellow Armenian students to her dorm where she feeds them the foods they grew up eating.
“For me, sharing a meal is very important,” Urfalyan said. “I love splitting bread — that’s kind of how we say it in Armenian, where it’s like you split bread with someone, you trust them.”
Urfalyan said she’s always had a heart for the kitchen and began learning from a young age — her mom taught her how to make her signature Manti at 8 years old.
When Urfalyan’s grandmother would come down from Fresno to Urfalyan’s home in Las Vegas, she would be working all day in the kitchen — Urfalyan was tied to her hip. She said some of her best memories come from being in the kitchen with her grandmother or mom.
Urfalyan carried that piece of home with her to Malibu.
“I’m someone that absolutely adores cooking,” Urfalyan said. “It’s kind of like my getaway from classes and from work and all the stress that comes with everyday life.”
In her first two years, Urfalyan lived on-campus without a kitchen in her dorm, meaning she would either have to eat the food on-campus or go out and buy food. Not having a kitchen or being able to cook for herself made the switch to university a lot harder, Urfalyan said.
Urfalyan’s friend, senior Suzy Mirzakhanyan, found herself in a similar situation. Unsatisfied with the school’s cafeteria food, she said she started buying food from restaurants, which turned out to be costly. Now, she cooks Armenian food in her dorm — she calls it comfort food.
This year, Urfalyan moved into the George Page Apartments, where she has a kitchen in her dorm. Urfalyan and Mirzakhanyan started cooking at school, for themselves and their friends.
Urfalyan’s homemade Manti sits on a tray at the George Page Apartment March 26. Urfalyan’s mother taught her how to make this recipe. Photo by Melissa Houston
At one point, Mirzakhanyan said her and Urfalyan were cooking food every day. One day, dinner would be at Urfalyan’s dorm, and the next it would be at Mirzakhanyan’s dorm.
Then, Urfalyan and Mirzakhanyan decided to set a standard — they needed to cook at least one Armenian meal every week.
“We make an effort to do it because — I guess our culture feels like home,” Mirzakhanyan said.
Urfalyan’s roommate, senior Elen Akopyan said Urfalyan taught her how to make Manti, and she now uses that recipe with her own family.
Urfalyan invites her friends over to her dorm two to three times a week to share a meal. Typically, she said she’ll decide in the morning if she’s going to cook that day, and then she sends out a text in a group chat with some friends. It isn’t planned days in advance — unless it’s a meal that requires more preparation.
Urfalyan cooks for a big group, even if the group is just five or six people. She said she doesn’t want anyone feeling like they can’t get seconds.
When she goes shopping for food, she said she buys for a group.
“I genuinely feel like a mom of three kids,” Urfalyan said.
Mirzakhanyan said their tight-knit bond comes from their culture.
An array of dishes sits on a table at the George Page Apartments on Nov. 20. Urfalyan prepares both Armenian and non-Armenian dishes for her roommates and friends. Photo courtesy of Kristina Urfalyan
Their memories might be shared at the dinner table, but it’s not dedicated wholly to the meal. Urfalyan said everyone is kind of doing their own thing — conversing, doing homework, studying and watching Armenian soap operas together.
“We honestly just hang out,” Urfalyan said. “It’s just kind of quality time that we’re all spending together.”
Akopyan said their dinner nights are probably one of their most cherished memories from this current academic year.
“It’s spontaneous, but it’s also just a way for us to have conversation and hang out when the topic isn’t always about school,” Akopyan said.
After dinner, cleaning up is short — five to 10 minutes. Urfalyan said everyone helps contribute to the cleaning process. Usually, at the end of the night, they close off with a fruit board or a cup of tea, maybe some dessert.
Mirzakhanyan cooks for the group as well. She said that it’s been harder for her to cook and host this semester because of school, but that her and Urfalyan would regularly contribute to a night together.
“If she was making dinner, I was hitting dessert, or if she was making something, I was hitting a side, or if I was making dinner, she was bringing a side or dessert,” Mirzakhanyan said.
Urfalyan’s cousin and her best friend are first year students. She doesn’t want them to go through the same dilemma she did, so Urfalyan said she told them to just text her when they want food, and that she’ll have something on the table for them.
“We’re always making an effort to meet up and talk about our week and spend time together,” Mirzakhanyan said. “We genuinely do prioritize that.”
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Contact Nick Charkhedian via email: nareg.charkhedian@pepperdine.edu or via Instagram: @nickcharkhedianjournalism