Rain did not stop the International Food Festival from drawing in crowds on Friday, Mar. 24, 2023. Students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered in Eastern Mennonite University’s Hall of Nations for an evening of international cuisine, music, dancing, and fun.
Each attendee was given several white tickets for food and one red ticket for voting. The winners, who were decided by the number of red tickets, were as follows:
- 1st place: Black Student Alliance (BSA) representing African American culture with fried chicken wings, mac and cheese, and sweet tea
- 2nd place: Mohammad Khatiri, representing Saudi Arabia with cheesecake and fettuccine
- 3rd place: Wendell Shank, with Mexican-style chicken tamales and posole
BSA won several years in a row before the festival took a two-year hiatus due to COVID. When the food festival returned last year, BSA did not compete. This year, BSA picked their winning streak back up.
Members of the team included Sha’Dymon Blanton, Nia Boyd, Kylik Bradshaw, Donesha George, Nardos Haile, Royale Parker, Brii Redfearn, Rachael Saeli, Merry Yirga, and advisor Celeste Thomas.
“We’re proud of our team. It was a long day of cooking and a collaborative effort filled with lots of fun and laughter,” said Haile (middle). “We’re happy to bring African American cuisine to a wide range of people,” added Yirga (left). “We’re very proud of each other, and we love our team.”
“In Saudi Arabia, we admire food so much that we try anything new. If we don’t like it, we add and change ingredients so it tastes better to us,” said 2nd place winner Mohammad Khatiri (left). “We love changing recipes and trying new ones, which is why there are a lot of small businesses in Saudi Arabia selling food in food trucks, in small restaurants, or even on Instagram.”
Khatiri gave crowds a taste of his cheesecake and encourages anyone who did not get to try it or who wants more to order from his Instagram, @Khatir_khakes.
EMU language and literature professor Wendell Shank (far right), 3rd place winner, made Mexican-style tamales and posole. “EMU is an international community, and this festival is a wonderful way to have people come out and show food that they’re proud of, that they’ve experienced and enjoyed around the world, and that brings them pride and joy,” Shank said.
Hebron Mekuria (left) and Noel Abeje (right) of Ethiopia made tibs, kitfo, and siga wot. Aman Seyoum and Ruth Seyoum, also representing Ethiopia, made tibs, tikil gomen, and shiro, which is what they “would eat at home.”
“EMU is kind of my second home now because we’re international students,” Aman said.
