Featuring dishes from all over the world, students and faculty were treated to a one of a kind feast Thursday evening.
Three teams, French, German and Spanish, faced off against each other in a culinary cook-off. They showcased not only international gourmet cuisine, but also a love and appreciation for a unique culture. Each team not only had to prepare and cook their dish, but also had to present it in their respective language.
The dishes up for approval were the French team’s crepes stuffed with egg, cheese and ham, along with a butternut squash soup. The German team‘s chicken schnitzel and Berlin Potato soup was next, and the Spanish team’s empanadas came served with a vegetable soup.
The Sixth Annual Iron Chef Competition was hosted by the Modern Language Club and took place in the Nance Room of Dorrill Dining Hall on Thursday.
Asst. Dean for Academic services, Dr. Joanna Baker, Vice President of Student Affairs, Dr. Tim Pierson, and Professor of Economics, Dr. Melanie Marks, judged the evening’s cultural competition.
The event was not only composed of the competition, but a silent auction as well. Those in attendance bid on items that included a tea and coffee basket, handmade clothing and even fresh vegetables from a few professor’s garden.
All of the proceeds went to fund Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organization where doctors treat those worldwide who can’t afford it.
Several other items like homemade cupcakes, Chick-fil-A and Moe’s coupons were raffled off during the evening. Abbey Stanzione, a freshman at Longwood University, was the first lucky winner of the raffle.
“It was really interesting. Everybody came and presented in all their different languages,”Stanzione said. “Which was cool to hear everybody speak, and then the food was delicious.”
After the judges tasted each of the dishes, those in attendance got the chance to taste them for themselves. “My favorite was, hands down, the empanadas,” Stanzione said.
Throughout the competition,the judges applauded the work of all the teams, and in the end, announced the French team as the winners.
The French team consisted of: Kaitlyn Chandler, Courtney Cauthorn, freshman Emily Weldonand junior Cassie Tagert, all of whom were extremely excited by their win.
“(We’re) very excited! The Modern Language department is such a small department anyway and then when you even break it up into the languages, they’re so, so tiny. So to have us be recognized for our department, it feels really great,” said Cauthorn.
“It was really interesting, you know, being able to present a dish in French and it was really cool, like the atmosphere here with all the different world languages,” said Chandler.
According to Chandler, this competition causes people to learn a lot about the dishes and the culture of each group.
“It was stressful being in the kitchen at some points and messing things up and trying to re-do them,” said Weldon. “But it didn’t even feel like a competition, ‘cause it was really fun and I think all of us got along really well, not just French people, but the Spanish and the German too, so it didn’t even feel competitive.”
According to Cauthorn, the president of the Modern Language Club, he had hoped that the turnout for the event would help spread the word about the club and the annual event.
“I just hope that people will know that this is a thing…Hopefully people will be aware of how fun this event is and want to come out in years to come,” said Cauthorn.
