Ate my way around the world right here in DC 🌏
My recap of the Embassy Chef Challenge last week!
Hi hangries! 🌏 You know how there are jobs that are uniquely DC. If you grew up in the area like me, you might have also had friends’ parents who worked for “the State Department” (often a coded way to say they work at the CIA). Or maybe you had a friend who didn’t have to worry about parking tickets because of their parents’ car diplomatic license plates. Being an embassy chef — that’s a uniquely DC job.
Last week, I had a really cool opportunity to go to the annual Embassy Chef Challenge, hosted by Events DC at Union Station. Your ticket in gets you the chance to eat and drink from countries around the world. These are the chefs that cook for ambassadors, diplomats, foreign dignitaries — the food was really top-notch. With over 20 embassies participating, I tried to focus on countries whose cuisine I was not as familiar with. I ate smoked goat from Uganda, pistachio cake and cardamom coffee from Saudi Arabia, cherry varenyky from Ukraine, peanut stew from The Gambia, and so much more. Seriously, so much more. More on everything I ate a bit later!
Growing up, food was my entry point to learning about different cultures. I know that’s the case with many others too. In DC, there are 175 embassies, but the public does not get many opportunities to engage with them other than open house days and other events. The Embassy Chef Challenge started in 2009 to raise money for cultural tourism in DC, at the suggestion of Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema. It brought the embassies to the people while also allowing them to meet and learn from each other.
As the event emcee Nycci Nellis, renowned DC area food and wine journalist, put it, this event is what “culinary diplomacy” is all about. That’s part of what made this night so special. Not only were you trying their food, but you also got to see the pride these chefs had for their countries and their cultures. “Vote for Sri Lanka! Try our food, it’s so spicy and delicious!” people from the Sri Lanka table were saying as they gently shepherded me over to their table to try their chicken kottu roti. “Oh, and don’t forget to vote for us!”
Ok let’s get into what I ate! At the end of the night, the judges named their winners in addition to a people’s choice award. As you read, see if you can guess who won (and who I voted for!).
The first stand I went to was Ukraine, immediately drawn in by the gorgeous cocktails that resemble the Ukrainian flag. It was blue curaçao, pineapple juice, and a horseradish-infused horilka. The savory dish they served was banosh, which was a polenta cake with sauteed bacon and goat cheese. Their sweet dish was cherry varenyky, traditional Ukrainian dumplings topped with a little sour cream.
I heard Barbados won at some point in the past, so my expectations were high. Chef Damian Leach kindly explained to me what breadfruit was and how they roasted it and pureed it to serve it underneat a curry lamb and spiced pineapple chutney. For dessert, they had a ginger scented mango tiramisu with spiced Bajan white rum. My expectations were far exceeded!
Chicken kottu roti is a street food in Sri Lanka using shredded flour roti, chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, cabbage, leeks, carrots, eggs, cheese, a whole lot of herbs and spices. The texture reminded me of a super spicy Thanksgiving stuffing. I also stopped by Indonesia where I had coconut milk-braised beef with curried jackfruit, kale, and herb battered tempeh.
In Saudi Arabia, I had an exquisite little pistachio cake that was nutty, syrupy, and delicious. It paired so nicely with the cardamom coffee they handed out to drink with it. Uganda served up a super tender and flavorful smoked goat and green plantains. I had a rice pilaf with “everything” in it, according to the chefs from Uzbekistan.
I coincidentally saved one of the best dishes for last of the night — a chicken tamale dumpling from Chef Jovana Urriola of Panama. Fun fact: she used to be Owen Wilson’s private chef! It was a dumpling with a chicken and ground corn filling. On top was a creamy, spicy, slightly nutty and smoky sauce that made for the most deliciously savory bite.
I left the event extremely full, already excited to come back next year, and most of all, inspired that something like this event can happen in the city I live. As the poster at the venue said, “food is a story,” and it’s my favorite kind of story. Going to the Embassy Chef Challenge was more than just a night of eating incredible food. It made me think of different parts of the world that I normally don’t know about or think that much about. Perhaps it even inspired some future travels. Oh, and if you read this far to see who won — Panama won the judge’s award and Barbados won the people’s choice award. My vote went to Barbados! If you need me, I’ll be looking up flights to Barbados…
Thank you for reading, subscribing, and continuing to follow along at @hangrytohappyy on Instagram and @hangrytohappy on TikTok! See you here next week! Xoxo 🌏