When imagining a street food festival, what ideas come to mind? A large event that features many varieties of food? Street food festivals are held in many cities across the United States such as Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Cincinnati and many others. The general purpose of these festivals is to showcase the large and diverse food culture in that particular community, all for a low price. “Foodies” can gather at these events and enjoy many different types of food while experiencing the culture behind the food as well. What better way to bring the community together than through the local foods?
Many students at Mercer University may not have the opportunity to visit one of these events anytime soon. As a special treat, the Fresh Food Company at Mercer had the honors of bringing the “life” of the street food festival to the campus. On Oct. 24, the special dinner event for that evening was titled “Street Food Fest.” The Fresh Food Company prepared a variety of interesting dishes that were supposed to embody the “life” of the street food festival right inside Mercer’s cafeteria. Some of the more unusual items on the menu consisted of pumpkin pie bread, the Elvis panini, Thai chicken lettuce wraps, Korean beef tacos, Korean pork skewers, egg drop soup, taco pizza and sizzling Malaysian chicken salad. If variety was what they were going for, they were spot on.
Preston Weaver, the location manager for the Fresh Food Company, explained the background on why Mercer decided to host this particular event. “It was a corporate suggestion that we do this event,” stated Weaver. “We wanted to showcase the different types of ethnic food. You know, try new things.”
Unfortunately, many students seem to have missed out on this dinner special because the Battle of the Bands event was held on the same night. As a result, the “Street Food Fest” had to share the spotlight with other campus events that evening. Despite this, the Fresh Food Company’s efforts in replicating an actual street food festival did not go unappreciated. Surprisingly, there is a lot of work and thought put into the events that the Fresh Food Company holds. Students should take more advantage of these special meal opportunities to show gratitude and enjoy the food creations. Like the “Street Food Fest,” many more interesting events are yet to come.
