THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 1999

Students taste test tofu

By Ken Hanson

On-Line Forty-Niner

Tofu, the food of choice for the health-conscious and vegetarian alike, was celebrated at a festival sponsored by the Asian and Asian-American studies departments Wednesday.

A tofu cook-off attracted 16 participants who prepared their favorite tofu dishes. The contest was organized by professor Yasuko Koshiyama and judged by professors from the department.

"We figured a lot of people would be making oriental food, and we wanted to give it a bit of a twist," said Seamus Warnock Dante, one of the cook-off contestants.

Warnock Dante and Phil Pador cooked up a batch of tofu tacos, one of the contest's more innovative dishes. The tacos included avocados, potatoes, cilantro, and salsa.

First place was taken by a team of four students. Sally Yang, Ying Yu Wu, Amanda Liu and Sharon Huang prepared a tofu dumpling.

The tofu competition offered four prizes for the best dishes. The prizes were furnished by the Forty-Niner Shops Inc. including a $100 gift certificate for first prize.

Second prize was a $50 certificate and two third-prize winners received $30 certificates for the Shops.

Judges chose the winners based on taste and appearance. Taste was the most important aspect with seven of the 10 possible points awarded for that category.

"I wanted to bring elements of everyday culture to the campus, not just karate," Koshiyama said.

The Tofu Festival attracted approximately 75 people to the President's Room in the University Student Union, including President Robert Maxson.

Maxson, who was in the middle of a hectic presidential schedule, said that he wanted to stop in to show his support.

"We've just been in a run all afternoon," Maxson said. "We just had to stop in and show our appreciation for what your doing. I love these students. I recognize a lot of them. This is a good thing. It looks like everyone is having fun."