Trays overflowed with pork rillettes, crunchy slaw, cotton candy Mountain Dew, BBQ bacon burgers and pumpkin cupcakes as 20 vendors donated their specialties and services to the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in exchange for community exposure in the 27th Annual Taste of Muncie on Sunday.
Sally Kirk, an originator of the Taste of Muncie event, attended as a volunteer with friend Mary Fitzwater. The event was Fitzwater’s first, but Kirk has attended Taste of Muncie 26 times.
“I think I‘ve only missed one,” Kirk said.
Kirk said the event is a social get-together as well as a fundraiser for Cornerstone arts programs.
“You get to see people you may only see once a year,” Kirk said.
Fitzwater helped pass out programs and enjoyed the variety of food at Taste of Muncie. The Baklava from Damask Café was her choice for best dessert.
“I know the Baklava is my favorite and I haven’t even touched it yet,” she said.
Eight of the 20 vendors were new to Taste of Muncie this year, including The Silo and Damask Café.
Damask Café is a new Mediterranean or Syrian style restaurant. Owner Bassam Helwani recently joined the Taste of Muncie vendor list on Tuesday.
“We decided to bring the food to the Muncie community, rather than expect them to come to us,” Helwani said.
He received positive response from attendees, and received “Best Entrée” for Damask Café’s summac chicken.
The Silo recently launched a new menu with smaller portions and more comfort food, owner Chris Ellison said. The event was an introduction of the new menu to the community. Although Sunday was The Silo’s first Taste of Muncie, Ellison said they would “absolutely be back next year.”
A group of students from Ivy Tech Community College attended not to promote a business, but to engage in a hands on learning experience.
“We’re proud of our dishes,” culinary arts student Carletta Philips said.
The students created an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert based on the Muncie community’s tastes and preferences. They chose comfort foods as the theme of their selections.
Nick Kirkpatrick, Vera Mae’s head chef, enjoys Taste of Muncie because he has the freedom to try new non-menu items, such as the lobster mashed potatoes and the sweet potato and andouille potage he served.
“I can do whatever I want,” Kirkpatrick joked in reference to menu items.
He bases his choices on which food ingredients are fresh and in season.
Taste of Muncie director Brett Ellison said the event exceeded expectations and ran smoothly. They will not have an exact number of how much money was raised for the Cornerstone arts programs for at least a week. At least 325 people came to the event.
