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Printer-Friendly ModeTaste of Soul delights campus
March 1, 2010 —
The RFoC was alive Wednesday with soul, tradition and the smells of home cooking.
That day, the cafeteria hosted the annual Black History Month’s Taste of Soul and offered Southern delicacies from three local chefs and recipes from SVSU staff members, allowing the campus community to experience some of their homecooked traditions.
The RFoC was filled, swarming with about 1,200 students, faculty and community soul food lovers.
“This is our third year and the event keeps growing,” said Mike Stickler, RfoC executive chef. “All in all, food brings people together and is a great way to learn about culture.”
The event was sponsored by the SVSU Dining Services, Minority Services, Office of Diversity Programs and the Conference and Events Center.
Faculty members supplied their recipes, and the RFoC staff made the dishes on site. As the guests left, a table had copies of some of the recipes so guests could later try making their favorites.
The RFoC smelled like a kitchen of love, with a menu that included barbeque ribs, fried chicken, fried catfish, macaroni and cheese, greens and fried okra.
The dessert table was immense, towering with sweet potato pie, banana pudding and Coca-Cola cake.
Greg Coburn, SVSU Transportation director and ribmaking expert, served up his secret recipe.
“My grandpa used to own a restaurant in Bay City that specialized in soul food like ribs, chicken, and fish,” Coburn said. “My sauce recipe is a secret, and to this day, no one but me knows what is in it.”
Jose Richardson, banquet chef at the H Hotel in Midland, supplied the fried chicken for the event. He joked that Coburn’s rib recipe wouldn’t be a secret for long.
“I want to learn [it],” Richardson said.
Chef Natasha Burns, owner of the Rite Spot restaurant of Saginaw, said that food brings people together. She added that the people she served were smiling.
Hungry patrons began lining up at 11 a.m., and the line remained steady and long throughout. Don Bachand, vice president of academic affairs, waited with his appetite ready.
“I have stood in line for 25 minutes already and am amazed at the amount of people here. I got a sample of the ribs though, and they were outstanding,” Bachand said. “This is a great atmosphere and people from virtually every component of the university come to this.”
All the recipes came with a story behind them. For nursing professor Ava Lewis, it was the recipe for cream cheese pound cake from her Mississippi brother-in-law’s mother.
“In our culture, we break bread together, and sharing food is a form of fellowship,” Lewis said. “This event is a great opportunity for students and the community to come together and be exposed to our culture.”
University Ombudsman Burk Foster had his appetite for soul food satisfied.
“This is one of my favorite events on campus,” Foster said as he prepared to get another plate. “I’m originally from the South and lived in Louisiana for 30 years. For me now, this event is about as close as it gets to down-home cooking.”
David Gomez, member of SVSU’s Board of Control, was impressed with A Taste of Soul.
“This is a golden opportunity to bring cultures together and enjoy the diversity that our campus has to offer,” Gomez said. “I applaud the many faculty and staff who went that extra mile to make this event special.”
The smell of fried chicken lingered in the air.
“This is great to have something different at the RFoC,” said computer science freshman Nick Borushko. “I grew up with some of these foods, but it was really nice to try something new. The fried chicken was definitely my favorite.”
A Taste of Soul also attracted visitors from the surrounding community.
Ken and Eileen Gross, Saginaw Township residents, visit the RFoC for an occasional meal and had been looking forward to the event.
“When we heard they were having soul food today, we just had to come,” Eileen said. “The catfish is absolutely delicious; I’m going to get some more.”
The event was also a treat for students like communication third-year Devin Flournoy, who had a meal filled with some of his favorite dishes.
“The okra is slammin’!”