Friday, March 29, 2024

Competition chopped in Iron Chef event

February 5, 2013

Participants in the Global Iron Chef Competition discuss their experiences Tuesday night.

Photo by Brytanie Killebrew | The State News

Promoting diversity, one bite at a time.

More than five teams competed for the title of Global Iron Chef Champion on Tuesday evening in McDonel Hall.

Global Iron Chef was thrown as a collaborative effort by the Arab Cultural Society, the Asian Pacific American Student Organization, the International Student Association, or ISA, and the Jewish Student Union.

Chef and ISA member Maksat Bakirov chopped onions for an entrée as his teammates sauteed over a hot plate.

Onions weren’t the only thing students were chopping. Attendees tried to cut the competition to win up to $20 worth of gift cards during the event, which was sponsored by the MSU Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives.

Event organizer and MSU Hillel Program Associate Sam Appel said he and others spent months organizing the event.

“I’m really excited for everyone that came out,” he said. “(It’s a) really fun cultural, culinary event.”

MSU Hillel members Taylor Lederman and Mikole Levran said they attended the event to continue their tradition, despite their questionable cooking skills.

“We’ve participated for the last two years,” Lederman said. “We always have a good time … even though we always get last place.”

Paulette Granberry Russell, the director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, said the event brings students together from different backgrounds to share both culinary skills and cultural experiences.

She said the environment and atmosphere is “comfortable, fun and open.”

“Creating opportunities for students to interact and engage with each other across cultures is part of the goals of the Office for Inclusions and the university,” she said.

“There’s nothing like food that can bring communities together.”

Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.

Discussion

Share and discuss “Competition chopped in Iron Chef event” on social media.