By Susie Cribbs

Through the blur of busy fingers and knives flashing at the speed of light, the forms of gourmet global cuisine appear. A platter of Kobe beef with leeks and red potatoes and a deftly formed sushi roll emerge from the whirl of activity that is Iron Chef Japanese Masaharu Morimoto. This time, though, he's not competing in the Food Network's cult favorite cooking challenge. He's putting on a show for more than 500 Carnegie Mellon students as part of the university's 14th annual International Festival.

"From Feast to Famine: Food, Culture and Society," ran Nov. 4–6 and featured workshops, lectures, discussions, food fairs, demonstrations and performances that celebrated the values, traditions and beliefs of world cultures. Morimoto's appearance came about in an effort to incorporate a fun element into the festival's schedule.


"The committee was interested in doing something fun and entertaining for Friday night," said Emily Half, associate dean of Student Affairs and International Festival organizer. "We decided to look into bringing an international chef to campus and Chef Morimoto was the ideal guest."

Fun was just what he delivered. Morimoto, who believes that cooking is entertainment, created a seven-course meal in just 90 minutes, all while answering audience questions about almost anything—even the type of pants he wears—through the help of an English interpreter.

Though entertaining, Morimoto's culinary style itself represents the global aspect of the International Festival. Billed as Iron Chef Japanese on The Food Network’s “The Iron Chef,” Morimoto initially trained in traditional Japanese technique, but today has a reputation for more global creations. According to his official bio, "His unique fusion cuisine takes advantage of Japanese color combinations and aromas, and uses Chinese spices and simple Italian ingredients, while maintaining a refined French style of presentation."

At the end of the demonstration, the audience rushed the stage to sample some of the fusion cuisine that has made Morimoto famous. "Audience members who tried the food loved it," said Half. "I heard great things about the lobster and Kobe beef, as well as the sushi."

Half also noted that Morimoto's performance was one of the most popular events in the history of the International Festival. Tickets for the event were gone only four hours after they became available, and a long line formed for autographs after the demonstration.

"I think that the Morimoto event added a light and entertaining element to the festival while still relating to the international theme," she said. "Overall, International Festival 2004 was a huge success and I hope the people who attended the events learned a great deal while still having fun."

The festival opened with a keynote address by best-selling author and activist Frances Moore Lappé. Her talk, titled "Exploding the Myths of Hunger One Pop Tart at a Time," discussed her views on world hunger. She argued that millions of people are going hungry, not because of the scarcity of food, but rather a scarcity of democracy.

Lappé has written more than a dozen books including “Diet for a Small Planet” in 1971. More than three million copies were sold. Her latest book, “Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet,” which she co-authored with her daughter Anna, addresses globalization, environmental degradation, human rights and the quality, safety and availability of our food supply.


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