Community is at the heart of Swarthmore College, and this sense of community is evident right from the First Collection ceremony at the Amphitheater, with all peers from your class year. This spirit of togetherness is also reflected in all other clubs and affinity groups on Swarthmore’s campus. While I believe the glue that holds club members together is the shared sense of value and respect, the shared meals are definitely a plus.
The International Student (i20) Club at Swarthmore has definitely embraced and honed this notion of shared meals and the love of a common meal to grow its community and represent their diverse identities. One way they have been able to do that is through the Fall Feast.
The Fall Feast is the biggest annual event hosted by the i20 Club every fall. The Fall Feast is a time where international students sign up to prepare delicacies that represent their unique cultures, bringing the world to the table at i20’s Fall Feast. From homemade delights to cultural bites, our international community showcases the richness of their home cuisine. The Fall Feast is a remarkable annual event at Swarthmore for international students. During Fall Feast, student chefs from different parts of the world cook food from their familiar cultural backgrounds. All other students are encouraged to either assist one of the chefs and learn to cook food from a similar or different culture, or simply taste different cuisines.
Events like the Fall Feast are good chances to make friends with students from these cultures. The international community is not exclusively for the benefit of international students, but is meant to be a platform for intercultural communication. It is a great opportunity to broaden students’ view of the world and eat great food. During the event itself, which is usually held in IC’s Sproul Hall, students represent their cultures, and they often talk about their lives in their native countries and teach others specialties from their hometowns. This is an immersive learning experience that is not often encountered in a classroom.
The invitation to the Fall Feast is sent to the whole campus, including student, staff, and faculty, and they do not have to be concerned about whether they have attended previous events or not because the i20 community always welcomes new friends. I20 has already begun collecting stories behind dishes from different cultures and are looking forward to more participants who wish to share, regardless of where they come from.
As one of the coordinators last fall, I shared a dish from my own country, Cameroon: Poulet DG. Poulet DG is a very unique, easy-to-love dish featuring an unbeatable combination of chicken, ripe plantains, and vegetables in a flavorful tomato sauce.
A little explanation here on why this dish is called Poulet DG: Poulet is the French word for chicken and DG is the acronym for Directeur Général in French, which means managing director or CEO in English. To translate directly, Poulet DG in French means “Chicken CEO” in English. An unusual name for a dish, right? But let me tell you why a dish would be named Chicken CEO.
Once upon a time, DG as the dish is fondly called, was mainly served to the upper class in Cameroon, the managing directors and CEOs. That’s because the dish combines two things that are very special: fried ripe plantains and chicken. Have you heard the adage that says history was made when a ripe plantain touched hot oil? That’s one of my favorite quotes of all time. Seriously! The plantains and chicken are bathed in an exotic tomato sauce and garnished with a variety of vegetables: carrots, green beans, bell peppers, and more. So the DG doesn’t only taste good; it is equally very visually appealing. I loved this dish and deducing from the fact my dish was the first to get finished during the event, I believe others loved it to.
The Fall Feast is quickly becoming a cherished tradition at Swarthmore, and I am excited to experience more in future years.
