The traditional International Banquet of the USZ Faculty of Agriculture was held for the fifth time, at which 21 nationalities of the Faculty's more than 60 foreign students were represented. The purpose of the event is for students of different nationalities to get to know each other's culture and gastronomy, including Hungarian culture, said Magdolna GERA, Faculty Erasmus coordinator.

The program was opened by Tamás MONOSTORI Ph.D., college teacher and head of the Institute of Plant Science and Environmental Protection.

Students from 10 countries actively prepared for the program, as they prepared their country's national dish or presented their country with a PPT presentation however, there were also those who prepared for the evening with a musical or dance performance.

"Our first performer was Wang Luyao, who came from Shanghai, China. She gave a playful presentation about her country. The second production was a trio: Jaldesa Aisha Adan, Sundusin Afiqah Izzati Binti, Mishra Diksha. The three girls of different nationalities - one from Kenya, one from Malaysia and one from India - performed a choreography made of dance elements characteristic of the three nations. Our third performer, the Chinese Feng Yuan, presented a piece of music on the cello. And the fourth production was a dance performance by our students from Laos (with the help of Chanthamat Thanomsack, Duangvilay Khonesavanh, Laofongyang Chongyear, Lee Dee, Phothisane Thanavath, Sibounma Phetdaovone, Siliphon Nuengmanixai, Somany Phoymany, Soumphonphakdy Phoutthasone, Nanthilad Souvalin),” - concluded Magdolna GERA.

The beauty of the gastronomic presentations was that each nationality could show how different the traditions of preparing the dishes are from the others.

"This time I presented only certain dishes from Hungarian gastronomy, for example our fruit soup, which usually causes mixed and divisive feelings from our foreign guests. I presented the students with typical Hungarian products, such as scones, “barátfüle”, “cacao snails”, and sandwiches with paprika flavored cottage cheese," said the faculty Erasmus coordinator.

The foreign students decorated the tables with signs and flags, where they gave each other and their instructors a taste of the dishes typical of their countries.

"I tried to taste at least a little bit of each dish to feel the differences in flavors. This green roll on my plate, for example, is a coconut Malay sweet, but this meat-filled puff pastry is also a Malay dish," added Magdolna GERA, faculty Erasmus coordinator.

"Our Ghanaian student baked a puddle-like patty from a mixture of beans and meat in oil. This is a side dish with the texture of mashed potatoes, a Nigerian dish, but it is not made of potatoes, but of flour. I also have a little bit of the tofu from Laos on my plate, and this milk soup-like sweet from Laos with corn in it is also served as a dessert at meals," said Magdolna GERA.