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Printer-Friendly ModeLatin fest spices up RFoC
September 17, 2007 —
Hispanic Heritage Month began Sept. 15, celebrating the independence of five Latin American countries. On Thursday, the RFoC put together a Latin Food Fiesta to take part in the celebration.
Nearly the entire menu was changed for two hours, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. On offer were a variety of Latin foods, including chicken mole burritos, seafood enchiladas, chimi-curry potatoes, churros and sanchoncho. Most of the dishes were spiced, cooked with a variety of vegetables, and allowed for the option of salsa.
The sanchoncho was prepared right in front of diners - a sauteed combination of peppers, chicken or steak, onion, tomatoes and squash. The chimi curry potatoes were also prepared fresh and were served with a spicy chili seasoning over potatoes, onions, peppers, black beans and tomatoes.
Executive Manager and Director of the RFoC Michael Stickler kept busy preparing the sanchoncho for guests and had fun doing it.
"I love this because the students enjoy that we cook it in front of them," Stickler said.
All of the foods for the Fiesta took time to prepare because they were made fresh.
"Some of the foods were being prepped two or three days in advance," said Chef Manager Kelly VanConnet. "Overall, though, the two to three hour changeover doesn't take that long."
Both Stickler and VanConnet were happy with how the food turned out, and the turnout of students, staff and faculty.
"It's a nice monotony breaker for everyone," VanConnet said. "And it lets students step out of their comfort zone a little."
Which is something not all students were excited about. Freshman elementary education major, Lauren Prenzler didn't mind the changeover too much.
"But it would be nice to have some of the other options we normally have," Prenzler said. She did enjoy the chimi curry potatoes, however, "because the seasoning is really good."
Other students enjoyed the change of pace. Mechanical engineering sophomore Eric Cowell was among them.
"It's pretty good," Cowell said. "I'm a big Southwestern-style food fan, though, so I'm kind of biased."
Not only were the entrees genre- fitting, but there was also a Latin shrimp salad, taco soup and a spicy shrimp chowder. The themed deserts included a peach charlotte angel food cake, caramel flan and sopaipilla, fried pastry bread with a variety of toppings.
"That's the only thing I didn't like," said Cowell referring to the flan. "It left a bad taste in my mouth. It's not that big of a deal, though, and if you don't like it, there are plenty of other options on campus."