Food for thought dished up at fair, cooking demo, legal event

There’s nothing like a little food to get a diversity celebration going. And in the case of Tuesday’s International Food Fair, part of Chapman University’s “Food Week,” there was plenty to celebrate. Students, faculty and staff poured onto Attallah Piazza to enjoy tasty fare from student groups and clubs representing India, Greece, Honduras, Turkey, Ireland and many other nations.

“This is one of the events I really wait for every year,” junior art major Diana Odero said, digging into a plate of international food treats.

Organizers of the fair from the Center for Global Education say the annual tradition feeds more than just a hungry crowd.

“People are introduced to different cultures that they may not know much about. Food is such a great way to bring people together,” said Jasmine Johnson, an assistant in the Center for Global Education and one of the key planners of the event.

Professors Don Will and Angela Tumini served as roaming food judges at the event and awarded first place to the India table for its freshly made 
dahi puri
, a popular Indian street food snack.

The university’s “Food Week” continues today with a free cooking demonstration from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. by Sodexo executive chef Jim Douglass on the Student Union stage.

And next week The School of Law is also hosting “Food Fight! The Legal Debate over the Obesity Epidemic, Food Labeling, and the Government’s Involvement in What You Eat,” a day-long legal symposium, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4. For more information, visit
www.chapman.edu/law
.