For the final event during International Education Week, Chef Beau Gerard dished up tasty ethnic food for students, faculty and staff to enjoy for free in the Culp Center from noon-1p.m. Thursday.
The event, by ETSU Dining and Catering Group, drew in over 50 people on Thursday. Gerard and Chef Hun Kim cooked sushi, rice and teriyaki chicken that had everyone going back for seconds.
“Everyone asked questions and were involved in everything that we were doing, so it went very well,” said Gerard. “With Mr. Kim coming over, that was good – people enjoy having him.”
Some students found their way to Dining Room 2 after reading fliers around campus or through ETSU’s Web site. “I like how he did the dialogue before we got to eat,” said sophomore Alan Prigmore. “We got to know about the culture of the food that we ate.”
Others, like International Education Week coordinator, Linda Wyatt, tried sushi for the first time. “I actually had the California roll at the suggestion of Beau’s parents who are here, and it’s absolutely wonderful,” she said. “I’m really excited that I tried sushi for the first time.”
This is the first time that a cooking demonstration has been a part of ETSU’s International Education Week, but there will probably be more in the future, said Wyatt. She plans on possibly having next year’s event in a more open area so that more students will attend. The cooking demonstration on Monday, which featured Jamaican pork, drew in about 40 people, she said. “I would actually like to do it all year round, like every couple of months or so,” said Gerard.
Gerard, who has been at ETSU for almost two years, graduated from the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh. The Jonesborough native attended Davy Crockett High School before moving up north in order to receive a better education in culinary arts. He worked in several restaurants, mostly focusing on Japanese, Mediterranean and Italian dishes, although his education mostly focused on classical French food. “I’m just kind of a fusion I guess,” he said when asked what his specialty is.
In addition to the free food demonstration, the Marketplace featured different ethnic foods each day this week, such as Caribbean, Greek, Italian, Japanese and Moroccan foods. It has not yet been decided what next year’s food demonstration will display.

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