On Friday, November 16th something fun and delicious happened at Wilfrid Laurier University … Laurier’s Spoon chapter hosted the Taste of Laurier! This amazing event ran from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm in the concourse. The original time was to be from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm, but with all of Laurier’s support, we ran out of food before the event was scheduled to be done!
The goal of Taste of Laurier was to allow students at the university to learn more about the different cultures and foods at WLU. Laurier’s Spoon chapter made this happen by inviting the religious and cultural clubs at Laurier to set up tables and share information about food in their culture with the student body. This event was totally free, so everybody took advantage of the delicious food from around the world that was offered.
When students arrived in the concourse to visit the Taste of Laurier event, they were first given a “passport” which each person was instructed to take with them as they went from table to table. As students walked around, they would learn information about the different cultures set up at each table, while also tasting a sample of food and learning about why it’s important to that country’s culture. Every time a student “visited a new country”, they were given a sticker to put on their passport. Once they finished visiting each table, they were entered into a raffle to win 1 of 3 AWESOME gift bags.
The three groups that participated in the Taste of Laurier were the Spanish Club, WLU Korean Wave and a Canadian themed table hosted by Spoon members! On the tour around the world, the Spanish Club’s table was the first stop. They offered “Bon Bon Bum” lollipops, a classic Columbian treat. These are uniquely flavoured lollipops with bubblegum in the centre. Passionfruit and Mango were fan favourites! Their table also had a soft drink called “Inca Kola”, which is the most popular pop in Peru. It tasted very similar to Cream Soda, but it was yellow instead of pink which was interesting!
The second stop was the WLU Korean Wave table. Their food staple was Kimchi. While you visited the table and tried a sample, WLU Korean wave members provided a brief history of this national dish of Korea. For those who don’t know, Kimchi is a Korean side dish made of salted and fermented vegetables, most often Korean Radishes and napa cabbage. Kimchi was created as a way for Ancient Koreans to preserve vegetables so they may be eaten even during the coldest days of winter. Though many years have passed since its creation, Kimchi is still popular today on a global scale!
And finally, the last stop for students trip around the world was the Canadian table! This table offered Canadian classics such as Maple Cookies, and Timbits (YUM). You really can’t go wrong with these Canadian staples.
All in all, the Taste of Laurier was a great success, with a total of 80 students travelling around the world! Hopefully in years to come even more religious and cultural clubs will participate so Laurier students can learn more about food from other cultures.
The Spanish Club:
Instagram: @laurierspanishclub
Email: laurierspanishclub@gmail.com
Facebook: Laurier Spanish Club
WLU Korean Wave:
Email: wlikoreanwave@gmail.com
Facebook: WLU Korean Wave