November 9, 2018 was the day that ICFOnians indulged the gourmet in them at the International Food Festival (IFF) organised annually by ICONS. Unfortunately, the day did not dawn bright and clear but the weather held and refrained from playing spoilsport. Six teams of ICFOnians participated in the IFF and catered to nearly 160 people at the Restaurant Barbacoa Europa in Gava.
The IFF is one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the ICFO calendar and as always, the participation in the IFF’18 was enthusiastic. The teams arrived early at the venue to prepare the dishes and the area was abuzz with peeling, chopping, mashing, frying and a variety of other forms of intense culinary activity, as they tried their best to start serving at 13-00 hrs.
Long queues were seen as the teams started serving food but there were no complaints as their colleagues lined up eagerly to try some of the diverse fare on offer. While the regulars such as the Mexican, Indian and Iberian teams served their traditional cuisines this time too, the Swabian-Iranian team offered a novel culinary fusion by combining Persian influences with the south-west German kitchen. The US-Canadian team and the desserts team rounded off the cuisines on offer.
At the end of the event, participants who had eaten at 4 out of the 6 stalls could cast a vote 
for their favourite team. Of course, people who were part of one team could not vote for their own team. After nearly 160 people were sated and had cast their votes, the ballots were counted and we had our winners. The Swabian-Iranian team placed third, followed by the Mexican team in second place. The Indian team won the title for the day, having garnered a healthy lead over the other teams on the ballot.
Just as the clouds threatened to open, we were ready to disperse after an enjoyable food festival. We would like to thank all the participants for their cooperation and we look forward to organising the International Food Festival again in 2019.
