Speed Taste Testing...

Anniversaries of towns are a big deal in Perú. This weekend was the anniversary of Vice, the district I live in. So for its anniversary, they had 10 days full of events, things like soccer games, volleyball games, educational talks on environment, small business, domestic violence, they also have dances and artesans exhibits. But my favorite event is the ¨Concurso de Platos Tipicos¨. This is an event where organizations from all over the district make a typical food dish from Perú and bring it to Vice for a food competition. This past Saturday, there were about 18 different organizations. Now the public gets really excited about this bc first, Judges go around and taste the food, but then, its time for everyone else to go out and sample.

It sounds pretty organized, doesn´t it? Well I am sorry if I am giving you the wrong impression bc it is the furthest from being organized! My ¨sitemate¨and I decided to each make a dish from our culture, as sort of an ¨intercambio¨, exchange of culture. I made Mac & Cheese (not just from a box, homemade Mac & Cheese) and my ¨sitemate¨ Brett made some turkish dish called Menemen.

Well as soon as we arrived, the entire crowd swarmed our table. They all wanted to see our food, they wanted to taste it, they wanted to smell it, they wanted to learn how to make it even though they had no clue what it was yet! And then they tricked us. The judges were tasting the last food and about 1/2 of the crowd, 25 people or so, kept asking us to begin. They said it was time to begin. No one else had started letting people taste their food, but the people were telling us it was time. So we said okay and uncovered our dishes. People starting pushing and shoving and killing each other to get in to grab a spoon (there are only 3 or 4 spoons at each table and you grab a spoon, take a bite, then put the spoon down for the next stranger to use, and you move on to the next table). Then the lady next me says its not time yet bc the judges have to make another round. Of course!! Thats how Peruvian culture is. They tell you what you want to hear, they tell you what you need to hear in order for them to get what they want. Its so annoying! Especially when you are working with business. You get nothing productive done.

So finally it was time to begin ( oh, for that 1 minute I uncovered my food for the tasting, they devoured about 1/4 or it, thats impressive). As soon as the director said ¨Okay¨ the people were at, and I split. I wasnt about to be there for all the mayham with my food. I wanted to try the rest of the food. There is supposed to be a line that starts at the first table, but that didnt happen. Half of the crowd was at our table, which was GREAT bc it freed up everyone else´s food so I wouldn´t have to wait in line or knock someone out to get some food. Let me tell you, it gets rowdy! Brett was trying to hand out crackers to people tasting his food but eventually gave up bc they just mauled him. Within about 10 minutes, my food was gone. They loved it! I had about 10 people afterwards ask me for the recipe. So I guess it was a success!