Chefs offer free food tasting

The sizzle of sauteing vegetables and the tangy smell of Thai cuisine greeted students as they entered the CyberCafé at the Herman B Wells library Wednesday night.

The event was the first of five free cooking demonstrations as part of the International Chef Series, sponsored by Indiana Memorial Union Dining Services-Sodexo.

The series premiered with award-winning IMU Executive Chef Damian Esposito, one of the IMU’s primary chefs. 

As Esposito cooked, he talked about the ingredients, technique and flavor of his dish, while providing cooking tips for the audience.

Esposito also offered free sample cards to the audience and welcomed any questions students had regarding the food. 

Esposito served and sampled his rendition of a Thai red curry chicken with basmati rice. He said he had experimented with several variations of the sauce at home before choosing this recipe.

“The thing I like about this dish is the vegetables and the color,” Esposito said. “You eat with your eyes first, right?”

The International Chef Series is made up of different chefs preparing Indian, Chinese, Thai and Korean cuisine.

Each event will feature a free demonstration showing how the meal is cooked followed by a tasting of the dish.

The series aims to reach out to IU’s international student population, said Chris Gray, resident district manager, and food and beverage director at IMU Dining Services-Sodexo. 

“What we notice in this area is that there are a lot of international students,” Gray said. “We really want to know what’s a comfort food for them because we’d like to incorporate some of those things on our menu.” 

Gray said Esposito’s experience with flipping demonstrations and chef competitions makes him a great fit for the event.

“I think a lot of times people feel that they can’t get close to an executive chef or talk to them about food, so its great to be able to get the executive chef out here to talk to people,” Gray said.

Chef Esposito has more than 20 years of experience, including working at the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh, the top private dining club in the country, as well as the USA Culinary Olympic Team, according to a press release.

In 2001 Esposito won the grand prize in the Bloomington Chef’s Challenge and the event’s people’s choice award.

If the series is successful this semester, it will continue in the spring featuring food from South America, the Mediterranean, Vietnam, Malaysian and beyond, according to the press release.

The next International Chef Series event will take place at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 1 in the CyberCafé. Students will be able to sample an Indian dish featuring masoor dal with rotis, Gray said. 

Additional chef series are scheduled for Oct. 16, Oct. 29 and Nov. 12.

Follow reporter
Torie Schumacher on Twitter @shoe_torie.