You smelled Friday’s World Food Fair at Allen Community College before you saw it. Probably heard it, too.
The student center on campus was packed with flavors from 14 countries, as 23 college students donned aprons and chef hats to whip up meals that fed over 200, according to organizers of the inaugural event.
Preparing the food was an adventure in and of itself, as students quickly maxed out space at Allen’s cafeteria.
Iola High School and Humanity House came through, offering up their kitchen space and home economics classrooms to help get plantains fried, potatoes boiled, and eggs cooked.
Dishes ranged from France’s quiche Lorraine and crêpes to Jamaican rice and beans. Spanish “huevos rotos,” or broken eggs, featured fried eggs served on top of fried potatoes, with Spanish ham to top it off. Sushi, a Japanese classic, was quickly devoured, and it seemed everyone beelined to try New Zealand’s pavlova, a bright and delicious dessert with a meringue topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream. The meringues were impressive — a shiny and delicate exterior gave way to a gooey interior. Turns out the dish was named after Anna Pavlova, a similarly elegant ballerina.
Hungry attendees ran the gamut from young to old. Allen’s Vice President for Student Affairs Cami Keitel said an estimated 120 students attended, just a little over half of the total crowd. Everyone else was a member of the wider community, interested in free food, of course, but also a chance to try something new.
As the evening went on, food became scarce, and students pivoted to yet another form of cultural expression: music. A portable speaker emerged out of nowhere, and Caribbean tunes filled the air. Flags from students’ home countries similarly manifested themselves, as young adults wrapped themselves in the flags, music and memories of home.
Pretty much every student this reporter spoke to said they missed home. The Kiwi students nearly melted when Steve and Di Bowman, Iolans who hail from Australia’s Gold Coast, introduced themselves. 
“I’m in love with your accent right now,” said one of the students, who likely would have been content listening to Di read out of the dictionary. 8,000 miles is a long way away. You can’t just head home to do a load of laundry.
But if you can’t make it home, events like these offer a taste of it.
And a chance to share their culture with others, to explain what it means to be from Haiti, seemed invaluable to students. Don’t believe the headlines, they seemed to say. They love their homes deeply.
Thrive’s intern Henry Lohman said he hopes such a successful event will pave the way to make this a new Allen tradition.
The food alone would be worth it. But at the end of the night, the food seemed the least important part.
