On January 25 International Services, the Asian American Student Union, Indian Student Association, the World Student Organization and Sodexo came together to host the first ever Curry Night in the MacIntosh Ballroom. The event introduced ONU students and the Ada community to different types of curry from across the world. Both hosts and participants were more than pleased with the turnout.
The idea of curry night all began when Ben Johns and Riku Watanabe aspired to take International Service’s monthly Rice & Beans cooking class to the next level and introduce everyone to curry.
It was a difficult process, however. Just making the curry for the event took them 10 hours.
With the help of the international organizations and Sodexo General Manager, Jim Risacher, the event was planned and successful in introducing students to new types of food.
“We wanted to reach out to the international students. We want to open up more flavors and taste for students to try at ONU,” Risacher said.
Omega Hollies, who teaches the monthly cooking class and helped create Curry Night, agrees with Risacher and believes that students ought to be exposed to different types of food from around the world.
“I think being exposed to internationalization is an important part of becoming a strong and engaged adult citizen. Your careers and lives are going to take you far and wide; and along the way you will meet people from so many different places!” said Hollies.
With the help of Risacher and ONU’s new chef, Tim Naylor, students were able to experience curries they may never have before. Naylor and Risacher hope in the future to bring curry into the ONU dining hall, where students will be able to enjoy foods that are so well known across the world.
For many of the students in attendance, several had never tried curry in their lives. For example, Lizzie Hanson tried curry for the first time that night and was happy with the decision.
“It was the first time having it. It’s great. And yeah, introducing the food to students is a great opportunity,” she said.
As for next year, students can expect a bigger and better curry night, filled with more food and opportunity to learn about international foods.
“Now that we know there is interest, I think next year we will try to expand the night for a great experience,” Hollies said.
As for this year, April 8 will be the day of the annual Multicultural Fair, where global cultures will be celebrated. The World Student Organization welcomes all to participate.