There is nothing that excites college students more than free food and that is what Stony Brook students got at the annual Campus Dining Food Expo last week.
The event was held during Campus Lifetime and brought in a swarm of students and faculty, all eager to try some delicious food.
The theme of the expo this year was “Passport to Flavor.” Everyone was given a mini passport to collect stamps from each vendor that they tried.
If they collected 10 stamps, they would be entered into a raffle for a prize.
The prizes consisted of a Boar’s Head Gift Basket, $100 in Wolfie Wallet Funds, Campus Dining Dollars and a bicycle.
Students also had the chance to win a pair of Beats by Dre Headphones by taking pictures of themselves and their friends at the food expo and using the hashtag #sbufoodexpo when they uploaded the picture onto Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
There were 30 vendors featured this year, a few short of last year’s roster.
Joonil Kim, a senior technology systems management major, was impressed by the Wenner bread served at the Sabin Meyer Corporation vendor.
“I hope we can have more free events like this,” Kim said.
Paul Mendola, a marketing sales representative from White Coffee – which is currently being served on campus – brought batches of homemade brownies and crumb cakes, which were gone in minutes.
Papa’s Country Porch is a family owned and operated bakery with products that are baked fresh and have no added preservatives.
“We want to bring in real products,” Mendola said. Maybe students will be seeing more of Mendola’s brownies on campus.
There was a huge variety of food, from gluten free and vegan soups to fresh smoothies blended by the power of pedaling a bicycle.
Students were able to get a quick workout and delicious smoothie.
Chefs from Stony Brook campus’ dining halls also set up camp and showcased their own creations.
Chef Romel from the Student Activities Center whipped up food that was fancy enough to be served at a five-star restaurant, including wild mushroom and mascarpone risotto with sautéed shrimp and white truffle oil.
From the Student Union, Chef Greg served gourmet beef sliders with his unique selection of sauces which were a real crowd pleaser.
The sauces included blueberry ketchup, sweet Thai chili mayo and cherry BBQ.
Laura Jung, a junior technology systems management major, said her favorite food was West Side Dining’s savory macaroni and cheese topped with bacon and the vanilla bean panna cotta with fruit compote served at the Union vendor.
Jennie-O’s smokehouse turkey burgers were another huge hit.
It is currently producing the savory turkey burgers on campus and it hopes to add its new smokehouse flavor to the menu.