Culinary Journey Festival at INRTU: Immersion in the World of Asian and European Cuisine
National dishes of Asian and European countries were presented at the Culinary Journey festival held at the INRTU campus. The guests had a chance to enjoy spicy Sichuan chicken, African Efo Riro, Korean rolls, Egyptian pumpkin and coconut cake, flavourful drinks with spices and many other things.
The event was organised by INRTU Baikal School of BRICS teams and the School of Baikal Hospitality at the University's Catering Centre.
According to Vice-Rector for International Affairs Stepan Bykov, the food festival presented dishes fr om nine gastronomic cultures. He wished the participants a pleasant dialogue and immerse themselves in different nations' culinary traditions.
Ilya Kruchinin, Deputy Director of BS BRICS, and Varvara Solomatova, Chair of the Institute's Trade Union, supervised the festival.
‘The festival is held for the second year in a row. However, this time we did not lim it ourselves to participants from BRICS countries. For example, some INRTU students interned in the Czech Republic, and many are studying Korean and German. Therefore, we offered everyone to share their international culinary experience.
The preparation for the festival united the students and, most importantly, revealed their talents. I would like to mention students from China: they decorated several tables at once, presented dishes typical for the Eastern part of the country, Sichuan and Shandong provinces,’ said Ilya Kruchinin.
The students got very united during the preparation for the festival and revealed their talents. I would like to mention students from China: they set up several tables at once and presented dishes typical of the Eastern part of the country, Sichuan and Shandong provinces,’ said Ilya Kruchinin.
Ijeoma Precious Mark, a student from Nigeria, introduced INRTU students to everyday West African cuisine.
Many tried Efo Riro - a rich soup made of spinach, meat and semolina. The guests were impressed with Zobo drink - a cool drink made of karkade with spices and exotic fruit juice. For dessert, one could try Puff-puffs made of Ghanaian puff pastry.
Precious said West African dishes are characterised by a balance of ingredients and spices:
‘In my homeland, they love meat and vegetables. The dishes are quite hearty, with a little bit of spice. Serving is very important. For example, when we eat pilaf, we serve meat and rice separately. I have been living in Russia for two years now and I confess that I have not got used to the local food. So I cook African dishes, some of which I have to adapt. For example, in Efo Riro, we add red palm oil, which is very difficult to find in Russia. I replace the oil with tomato paste, and it is quite tasty’.
Fried bananas in cheese breading have become the most popular on the Indonesian table. For dessert, the Indonesians served ‘Sop Boa,’ an iced fruit cocktail. The ingredients were mixed apples, pitahaya and flavoursome melon.
Fans of spicy food tried ‘Kung Pao’ chicken with peanuts and famous Sichuan peppers. Some preferred chicken with grapes, a speciality of Shandong Province. One of the Chinese tables was decorated with glass noodles and stewed pork, popular in the eastern regions of the country.
You could continue your food journey through Eastern Asia at the Korean location. The main features here were Kim-pap rolls and Pulkogi stew made of the thinnest slices of beef. Big queues lined up near the Egyptian location. Here you could taste shawarma, Arabic tea and delicate pumpkin casserole with cashews and hazelnuts.
European dishes also aroused great interest. Czech trdelniki with ice-cream, German strudel, potato salad, raspberry soda - this is just a little bit of what was presented at this location. Traditional Russian pancakes, salad ‘Obzhorka’ (Little Glutton) and rich Borscht complemented the European cuisine section.
Zhang Ziqiang, INRTU student from China, was very impressed with the festival. The student liked how good the Czech trdelniks tasted. Zhang also noted that she loves her national cuisine very much:
‘Chinese dishes bring me warm memories of my family living in Beijing. We often cook together when we meet‘
Lubov Tevyashova, a future specialist in property expertise and management, tried Czech, Chinese and Arabic dishes. She liked the pumpkin dessert with nuts the most:
‘I discovered the pumpkin in a completely unexpected and delicious way. I was also impressed by the flavoured spiced mulled wine on juice.
I really enjoyed the festival. Such events boost my energy and help me to relax a little before the exams. The Culinary Journey festival is an opportunity to practise English and immerse yourself in a foreign culture.
I really enjoyed the festival. Such events boost my energy and help me to relax a little before the exams. The Culinary Journey festival is an opportunity to practise English and immerse yourself in a foreign culture. It inspires me to make new experiences, for example, I felt like travelling or going on a foreign internship’.
