Wednesday, 19 March, 2014

Students from the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) put on a dazzling display of culinary diversity as they showcased tantalising cuisine from across the globe at an international food fiesta, held alongside this year’s annual student talent competition.Traditional cuisine from fifteen different countries was on offer as participants brought along sweet and savoury treats for fellow students and staff to sample, as well as hot and cold beverages to accompany the authentic culinary experience.There was a colourful range of curries from Asia, spiced meats from Africa and seafood from the Far East, as well as traditional Arabic cuisine and the customary Australian vegemite sandwiches. With much of the food home-prepared, students got the opportunity to judge each other’s culinary skills, as well as sample their native cuisine.Sandunie Wijesekara, a member of the UOWD Student Representative Council (SRC) and one of the organisers of the event said, “We were looking for a different way to bring students together and what better way to unite people than through sharing our traditional foods. It is a great reflection of our student community to see so many people involved and so many different national cuisines represented.”As the food fiesta came to a close, students prepared to take to the stage for the annual UOWD talent competition, which this year saw performances in three different categories. In the singing category, a crowd-pleasing Arabic rap performance from Fady Nagy was narrowly beaten into second place by fellow rapper Shahroz Raffat.In the dance category, Mariya Savchenko gave a captivating belly dance performance to take the runner’sup place behind Priyank Shah and Mohammad Shoaib Osmani, who gave a show-stopping dance performance of their own. The open category was won by Zeid Al Essawe, displaying his very unique ‘football dance’ talents, while the UOWD Acting Club, The Thespians, took the runner’s up place for their humorous take on the perils of social media.Music throughout the afternoon was provided by the university band and the event was emceed by SRC President, Madhyama Naswa.Samarth Meherish, a member of the talent competition judging panel and former UOWD student said, “We have seen an outstanding range of talent today and I would like to congratulate not only the performers, but also everyone involved in organising such an amazing event.”UOWD is grateful for the generous support of Unilever (Chai Latte) and MAM FoodCo in contributing to the event.