Chef Sarah Falls shared her love of food with students by cooking hundreds of tacos at the pop-up cooking demonstration event at Montview Student Union on Jan. 27.
Sodexo provided free birria tacos, a Mexican taco made with beef stew or soup, to serve the students a unique dish on campus. These types of tacos consist of slow-cooked Sirloin with guajillo and chipotle peppers, tomatoes, garlic, herbs and spices, while served in a white corn tortilla, dipped in the marinade and grilled.
Sodexo will use inspiration to choose each food at these pop-up events by looking at what is most recently trending on TikTok.
Although the event was set to start at 11:30 a.m., the table was ready to go and Chef Falls was prepared to serve the hungry students early. Impressively, 320 servings were already gone an hour after the event began.
Social Media and Events Coordinator for Sodexo Sarah Whaley said that Sodexo staff members always want students to know they are here for them.
“Sodexo is here to support them. We want to connect with the students and build that relationship with them. So, they know that we are here, and we do care,” Whaley said. “We just wanted to tell the students that we appreciate them, and we’re here to support them. So, we wanted to bring some kind of trending fun food to serve to them for free.”
The delicious smell drew students to the pop-up cooking demonstration table where they enjoyed free tacos. The line lasted for two hours.
“I just saw it and it smelled good. So, I thought it was an exciting surprise because I was hungry for lunch,” freshman Rachel Teague said.
Liberty student David Shin enjoyed the opportunity to try a dish from a different culture.
“I love tacos. So, I decided to try one and then see how that goes,” Shin said. “I work at the International Student Center. So, I like to try a different kind of food from different places.”
The event also fed the students who have classes during lunchtime, helping them to save money and time. Many students appreciated that Sodexo provided free tacos before their classes.
“I’m hungry, and I don’t have time to get food right now. So, this is pretty quick and easy,” senior Eli Schaefer said.
While successful at Montview, Sodexo is ready to serve the students with unique food again on March 1 at the front door area of the Tilley Student Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and another during the first week of April to give students who are not on main campus the opportunity to experience the pop-up events.
“We’re bringing it over to the Tilley for the next one because we know some students don’t get to venture to the main campus as much, and with more limited options on a daily basis at there, we’re excited to host a pop-up for students,” said Sodexo’s Marketing Manager Shelby Burton.
Whaley said that they are going to post a poll on their social media at Liberty Dining, where the students can tell them different food that they want to try. Most students were excited to have different and other free food.
“I love learning about other countries, different cultures. I love trying new food and can always learn something from there,” sophomore Lauren Gebscadt said.
Jang is a news reporter.