International Dinner Series Kicks Off Sept. 24 with Middle East Foods
Popular Monthly Events Offer Culinary Journey for Students, Public
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology will launch a culinary journey around the world on Thursday, Sept. 24, when the International Dinner Series returns for its second tasty trek through India, Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere.
Unveiled last year, this innovative initiative from the university’s Dining Services drew hundreds of community members each month to Panther Dining Hall, where they joined Florida Tech students in enjoying dishes from that particular meal’s geographic focal point.
As was the case last year, there will be related educational materials posted in the dining hall and, at some meals, entertainment from the country or region that developed the cuisine.
And like last year, students and staff from the countries featured in the meals will be asked to sample the dishes selected, developed and prepared by Dining Services Director Tom Stewart and Chef de Cuisine Jon Skoviera, to ensure they are authentic.
“The integration of authentic international foods into our menus has created excitement and a new interest in our dining venues from students and the surrounding community,” Stewart said. “Our International Dinner Series has created a platform for our students to share the true international flavor of our truly international university.”
All dinners will be served from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Cost is $16, tax included, per person for the all-you-care-to-eat meal.
First up in the series will be the Middle East on Thursday, Sept. 24. Dishes expected to be in the lineup include Omani fish curry; a roasted chicken and rice dish called chicken kabsa; and a dessert dish called babousa, which is semolina cake with almonds.
Here are the countries and dates for the rest of the series:
- Latin/South America, Thursday, Oct. 29
- India, Saturday, Nov. 14
- Africa, Thursday, Jan. 28
- China, Thursday, Feb. 18
- Caribbean, Thursday, March 31
Panther Dining Hall, 3113 Panther Place, is just south of the Clemente Center on the Florida Tech campus in Melbourne. Visitor parking is free on the first floor of the parking garage behind the dining hall. Visit http://www.fit.edu/map/ for a campus map.
For more information, call 321-674-8040 or check out Florida Tech’s dining site at http://www.fit.edu/food/.
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