EMU’s International Food Festival was held for the ninth year on Friday, March 24, to great enjoyment, smells, and deliciousness. The second year back since the pandemic interrupted the annual tradition, the event was moved inside to the upper floor of University Commons due to rain. Dozens of stands, trading samples of all sorts of global cuisines for red tickets stretched down through the Student Union and Hall of Nations, an apt choice of venue regardless of weather conditions. Diners and visitors were then able to make use of the tables and chairs in Common Grounds and The Den.
Maria Esther Showalter, Language and Literature professor found the last minute change of venue for the best saying, “I liked all noise. There was some beauty in being all crammed together indoors. There was so much energy around food; people were able to ask friends ‘oh! Where did you get that?’. And you could smell everything so much better. The change was new but a good experience.”
Marciella Shalomita, who cooked for the Indonesia and Ghana tables thought that this year’s festival was “a lot more work than last year,” due to a much more complicated recipe “We cooked for maybe four to five hours on the day of and had maybe one to two hours of prep the day before. It was hectic but definitely a lot of fun.”
Once their tickets were all used up, diners then scanned the QR code at their favorite stand to vote for the best dish and vendor. EMU’s Black Student Alliance (BSA) won again this year, previously having won the competition three years in a row before the pandemic. Stands were staffed not just by EMU students and organizations, but also by professors, parents, and community members.
“I also love this event each year because it’s a chance to learn about various dishes from specific countries in the world, not just a generalized dish that we can buy in restaurants,” said Shalomita. “The dishes that we all made might or might not be well known, but it comes from our families, traditions, and countries/cultures that we grew up with. I think the beauty of it is that students, faculty, and the community are involved in this event.”
Sophomore Irais Barrera, who helped with the Latino Student Alliance Table had a “really good experience” during this year’s festival. “I feel like it’s a great opportunity for everybody to come and experience different foods from different countries.” Barrera also thinks that she saw a higher attendance this year compared to last year.
Shalomita thought the event was “very packed”, elaborating that it was “hard to socialize and talk with others while serving food. Of course I’m sad that we didn’t rank because we put in so much work and effort into our dish…but it was nonetheless still a great experience!”
