By Scott Meeker
smeeker@joplinglobe.com
Though the event is billed as an international “dinner,” it should be thought of more as an international “sampler” — a chance to take your taste buds on a trip through world cuisine.
“We’ll have food from a variety of different countries,” said Betty Willems, coordinator of international student services at Missouri Southern State University. “We’re also going to have some local restaurants showcase their food.”
Tickets are now on sale for the International Dinner, which will be held on Sunday, Nov. 15, at Trios in downtown Joplin. International students from Missouri Southern and local restaurants will join together to offer a unique menu for the evening — Mexican, French, German, Thai, Italian and Greek foods among the offerings available.
It’s a fundraiser for the international student services program and the international mission at Missouri Southern, Willems said.
The student services program offers bicycles for international students to use (because it can be difficult for them to rent cars), recruits “friendship families” to spend time with them and organizes social events such as trips to St. Louis or Fayetteville, Ark., and a Christmas party.
“We do things to make the students feel welcome and good here,” Willems said.
There are currently about 100 international students representing 20 different countries attending Missouri Southern, said Chad Stebbins, director of the Institute of International Studies.
“We have students from China, Japan, some of the African countries,” Stebbins said. “There is quite a wide variety.”
Stebbins said that the international dinner was started in the late 1990s by Dr. Tatiana Karmonova, who at the time was the faculty sponsor for the university’s International Club. It ran for about five or six years, he said.
“The main difference is that now we’re getting more restaurants to donate food,” Stebbins said. “It used to be exclusively done by the students.”
He said he hopes that the dinner becomes established once again as an annual event.
“It used to be a very popular event that was well attended and looked forward to by many,” he said. “People like to sample food they might not otherwise have the opportunity to try. It’s a curiosity factor.”
David Robinson, owner of Trios, has had 14 years of experience when it comes to international cuisine. The former Joplin High School basketball player went on to play for the University of Missouri-Kansas City and for teams in France, Germany and other parts of Europe.
“There is a huge difference between the cuisine of France and Germany,” he said. “In Germany, the food has a lot of heavy sauces and vegetables. France has lighter dishes and the food is very dish-specific.
“In Spain, I love the way they eat. They eat a little bit of this and a little bit of that later in the evening.”
At Trios, Robinson has also tried to showcase some different flavors to his patrons — from sushi prepared by local chef Hein Han, to a test run of some of the food that will be available at Caldone’s, an Italian restaurant at 218 S. Main St. owned by Donnie Bennett and his wife, Karuleen.
With his international background, Robinson said that he began talking several months ago with faculty members at Missouri Southern about resurrecting the international dinner.
Willems said that she hopes to make the international dinner an annual offering again.
“This is my first one, so it’s new for me,” she said. “It’s a learning experience.”
Want to go?
The International Dinner will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased in the ticket office in Billingsly Student Center or the Institute of International Studies in Webster Hall. Tickets will continue to be sold through the day of the event at Trios, 112 S. Main St.
