Taste-ival planned at Calais school

CALAIS — A culinary trip around the world, the fifth annual Taste-ival Smorgasbord, will be held Tuesday, March 2, in the cafeteria at Calais High School. Proceeds from the event will benefit the 20th annual International Festival to be held in August. Tickets for the event are $6 (U.S.) and $7 (Canadian).

Because of the success of last year’s Taste-ival, which served more than 150 people and featured more than 50 ethnic dishes, there will be two seatings, at 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. so everyone can be served. Tickets will be sold for either of the seatings. Each seating will accommodate 100 people.

Paul Richardson, one of the organizers of the event, said that volunteers are needed to prepare either regional or ethnic dishes. “Because it is set up to provide people with a taste of the various cuisines, a large bowl or pot of whatever baking dish could provide a taste for 100 people,” he said Double recipe will be needed for both seatings.

Richardson said participants would receive a plate and utensils and their first stop would be soups and appetizers where they could sample the items they would like to try. He said that would be followed by samples of the main courses, and then desserts.

In the past, the Taste-ival was held during the International Festival. Last year, organizers decided to hold it before the festival to raise money for that event. Dishes from China, New Zealand, Germany, Great Britain, Denmark, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Caribbean islands, Korea, Italy, Taiwan, Iran, Poland, Greece, Mexico and Canada were served. Regional cuisine such as Pennsylvania Dutch, French Canadian and Cajun also were offered.

This year, other international dishes offered were from Sweden, Russia, France, Honduras, El Salvador, Bolivia, Argentina, Hungary, Japan and Bangladesh.

“There was an incredible assortment of food last year, a lot of the dishes were very unusual for people who are not use to anything beyond Italian or Chinese. It is mind boggling what one can do with some unusual spices or condiments,” Richardson said.

Tickets are on sale at J.D. Thomas and at Boston Shoe Store. To order tickets call 454-2134.