Students outside of Campus Market Feb. 7 tasted food from all over the world as the International Center and food science and nutrition students teamed up for the third annual Taste of the World event. For three hours, students shared bite-sized tastes of popular culinary dishes from various cultures.
A Learn by Doing experience
For students in Institutional Foodservice II (FSN 344), the event was a way to practice standardizing a recipe. This meant turning a favorite dish into something that could be made in mass quantities. Students had to convert measurements into weighted amounts and spend several days preparing the 600 samples of food. The class used recipes from all over the world to make a total of 10 different dishes. Bruschetta from Italy, pretzel bites from Germany and brigadeiros from Brazil were just a few of the delicacies available for tasting.
“The idea is to bring the international taste to the event,” nutrition senior Giuditta Traver said, serving Italian pignoli cookies that came from a recipe her grandmother gave her.
The 10 recipes featured at the event and additional dishes can be found on the event’s Facebook page and Pinterest.
According to the student coordinator of the event, nutrition senior Isabella Benedetti, many of the recipes selected were family recipes. Benedetti felt the event was a great way to showcase studying abroad as well as different cultures on campus.
“It’s really important to showcase the different diversities of food and ethnicities,” International Center student assistant and business administration senior Meghan Julin said. “Working in the International Center, we see it day-in and day-out and sometimes other people don’t get to see these cultural experiences every day. It’s really fantastic to share and get different opinions and perspectives.”
Culture-based activities
There was more than food to share at Taste of the World, with booths featuring activities from different cultures. There was also a Greek Folk Dance Performance by Οι Φοιτητές (Oi Foitites) and a dance performance by CPSalsa, according to the event page. Booths included activities like henna tattoos, mandala coloring and lei-making. Microbiology sophomore Mark Dizon volunteered at the lei-making booth as a student of the Hawaiian cultural club, Hui O Hawaii.
“It’s important to me as a student of color coming to Cal Poly,” Dizon said. “Some people came up asking ‘What is a lei?’ and freshman year, I would have thought it was ignorance, but now I see it as we are here to teach.”
Students could come and go during the event, many staying to watch performances and try their hand at various activities.
“I think it’s cool Cal Poly is sharing culture from other places,” computer engineering sophomore Adrian Pichardo said, having finished a sample from one of the food booths while waiting for a group of Greek dancers to start performing traditional choreography.