International Food Bazaar Review

For the first time since 2019, MSU students, staff and other members of the community had the chance to experience the tradition and culture of other countries through the immersive experience of MSU’s International Food Bazaar.

For 35 years, the Office of International Programs has hosted this event celebrating the diversity of the student population here at MSU. Our campus is a melting pot of cultures and is home to an array of students from across the globe that get the opportunity to share a piece of their heart and home with us at the bazaar. Food bazaars originated in the Middle East, they are essentially a marketplace containing rows of small shops and food samples made there at the bazaar. The 2023 bazaar showcased traditional cuisine and dishes from 13 countries including Ghana, Uganda and New Zealand. This event made an impressive comeback Wednesday, Feb. 15, after a four-year hiatus due to the pandemic, and I had the opportunity to taste the world and interview Drew Slade, the events host and general manager of Rendezvous Dining Pavilion.

Slade said he has been working for MSU for five years and this was his first time being involved with the bazaar.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be doing this with all the different nationalities and ethnicities here,” Slade said.

The overwhelming passion dedicated to curating this event from international student groups has been inspiring this year and their passion was visible in the execution I saw at the event. For example, students from Nepal and Nigeria and the volunteers that accompanied them were clothed in traditional dress, which brought the experience to life.

“It also goes the other way around though. You have a lot of people that are from Montana that have never really left, so they are being exposed to a lot of different cultures that they never would have otherwise been around,” Slade said. It’s a give-and-take environment where we can learn and grow from being enriched in each other's lives and traditions.

There were some standout dishes Slade told me I had to try for myself. Students from Nepal and Sri Lanka were at Rendezvous Dining Pavilion early in the day setting up their decorations and preparing the ingredients for their dishes. The currywurst from Germany surprised and wowed the attendees of the event. The spices in the dish were perfectly proportioned and added flavor to the food. The momo dumpling, one of Nepal's most famous dishes, was incredibly well executed — and my favorite dish of the evening.

“Coming to this event is a great way to expose yourself to so many foods that you would have never been able to try or would have thought to try. There are so many students from around the world that are here that students and staff do not know about, and I think this event is a great bonding event for all of us and it offers equal opportunity and gain from all sides,” Slade said.

This unrivaled event is a huge undertaking for the culinary department as well as the international programs department. It was a display of teamwork and comradery at its finest. The International Food Bazaar offers so much to use as a community and as a society. Creating an intersection of celebration and culture is at the core of this event. It’s an experience you won’t want to miss out on next year.