Mermaid donuts, free kombucha, coffee roasting, and a prize-winning snapper dish that had judges eager for a taste—Food Week has it all! From October 16-20, the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department (FSHN) at the University of Florida presented the fifth annual Food Week. This celebration of food, science, nutrition, and everything in between drew in over 500 visitors throughout the five-day culinary and education extravaganza.
In September 2018, the UF/FSHN Department held its first ever Food Week. Since that inaugural event, Food Week continues to offer fun and educational events, including perennial favorites like the Master Chef competition and innovative experiences like Donut University.
The purpose of Food Week has always been the same: to showcase the FSHN Department and its students, faculty, and staff while collaborating with programs across UF and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS).
Read on for a taste of this year’s exciting events.
Day 1: Kick-Off and Coffee Roasting
If you missed your morning coffee on the first day of Food Week, we had you covered! Carrying on his much-loved tradition, FSHN professor Dr. Andrew MacIntosh gave a coffee roasting demonstration in the FSHN courtyard. After the fresh coffee beans were roasted, ground, and brewed on site, attendees enjoyed a free cup of coffee in the company of fellow food enthusiasts.
Day 1 was also the perfect opportunity to learn more about the FSHN Department and its undergraduate and graduate programs in food science, nutritional sciences, and dietetics at the Food Week information booth. Learn more about these programs below:
Undergraduate Programs:
Dietetics
Food Science
Nutritional Sciences
Graduate Programs:
M.S. Dietetic Internship Program
M.S. Food Science and Human Nutrition
Ph.D. Food Science
Ph.D. Nutritional Sciences
Day 2: Kombucha and the New Donut University
Purple donuts? Your eyes were not deceiving you! Led by Sharyn Passeretti, FSHN teaching kitchen laboratory manager, Donut University taught participants how to create “mermaid” donuts, which are made from purple sweet potatoes. Participants mixed up donuts from scratch while learning about the science and art of donut making. For instance, when these tasty treats are fried, sweet potato donuts sink while traditional flour donuts float.
Afterward, Food Week guests washed down their donuts at the free kombucha tasting. Food science graduate students Nick Wendrick and Santiago Cardenas Pinto study fermentation processes and developed a batch of kombucha specially for Food Week. Visitors enjoyed a sample of this fermented beverage at the Reitz Union.
Day 3: Field and Fork Farm Tour and Picnic
UF’s Field and Fork Farm provides opportunities for students, faculty, and community members to explore sustainable agriculture and food systems through experiential learning, research, tours, classes, and events. During Food Week, visitors enjoyed a tour of the farm’s gardens led by program coordinator Kelli Brew and her team.
After the tour, the FSHN Club served a picnic curated by food science major Marisa Mass and local Gainesville executive chef, Fred Cremo. The menu included seasonal produce from the Field and Fork Farm and highlighted the diversity of its offerings.
Day 4: FSHN’s Master Chef Competition Has a New Champion Team
Don’t let the Master Chef Competition’s fun and supportive atmosphere fool you—this annual contest is fierce! In this Food Week highlight, seven two-person teams of UF students from many different departments flexed their cooking skills in the FSHN Pilot Plant Food Lab Kitchen. Organizers tasked the students with creating a meal with ingredients from the Hitchcock Field and Fork Pantry and gave them only five minutes to “shop” for the ingredients!
With only one hour to prepare their dishes, the competitors worked hard to create meals that were both delicious and inventive. This year’s contest included a tricky twist: each team had to incorporate a different surprise ingredient. All the surprise ingredients were produce items and included eggplant, dragon fruit, sweet potato, artichoke, portobello mushrooms, purple cabbage, and spaghetti squash.
The four Master Chef judges ultimately awarded the top prize to Leah Llobell, a biology and pre-law major, and Emanuel Obika, a dietetics major. Their dish was a mouthwatering pan-fried snapper served over mashed potatoes with a side of grilled corn, as well as pickled purple cabbage salsa topped with an oven-roasted tomato butter drizzle. Yum!
Day 5: Cutting Edge Science at the Research Symposium
Visitors to the Food Week Research Symposium engaged in conversations about the latest research and product development in the FSHN department. Graduate students shared details about their projects with eager listeners. For more information about food science and nutritional sciences graduate student research, check out our popular Research Journeys series.
Closing out Food Week 2023 were two free food events. In an end-of-summer celebration, visitors enjoyed hot dogs and veggie dogs in the FSHN courtyard. Special guest Impossible Foods handed out the veggie dogs, along with samples of their plant-based protein products. Devanshu Mehta, FSHN food science Ph.D. alumnus and Impossible Foods scientist, traveled from California to attend this special event.
The final event of the week was an ice cream social where participants tried a dairy-free soft serve while learning about food science techniques in food manufacturing. In a refreshing twist, the soft serve was a sweet and tangy combination of orange and pineapple.
For more information about Food Week, contact FSHN Student Services Manager Herschel Johnson.
Thank you to all our visitors for making Food Week 2023 an exciting and educational event. See you next year!
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