Eating the Days Away

Some of you may have already received my survey solicitation (part of my dissertation) this week, so you know that I've been hard at work on that. Additionally I've been putting together a budget proposal for the Gates Council and doing some preparation for the Union. In the evenings I’ve been spending quite a bit of time eating – I’m enjoying a week of indulgence before I go back to eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches and muesli (the quintessential healthy European breakfast) for the next five weeks while my dining hall is closed.


CHURCHILL FORMAL

On Monday I attended the Churchill Christmas Formal. We dined in Cambridge’s largest dining hall where the meal included a delicious tomato salad for an appetizer and a very unique main course. The vegetarian option was yellow rice, potatoes and cheese, and salad, which was mostly made up of raw onions. Aside from the unusual combination, the three dishes were served together in a bowl – turning the three dishes into one very special dish.

Following the meal, we were given £500 to gamble in the Churchill faux casino. After loosing my money, my host for the night, Laura, and I put our funds together (i.e. she gave me some of her funds) and I turned our £1,000 pounds into £10,000 – enough to make us the first at the party to make it into the winners circle (giving us an entry into a drawing for May Ball tickets).


CHEZ GERRARD

On Tuesday, the outgoing Gates Scholar Council joined the incoming council and Provost of the Gates Trust, Gordon Johnson, for a splendid meal at one of Cambridge’s fine French restaurants, Chez Gerrard. I sat next to Provost Johnson (who is also the deputy vice chancellor of the university) and my friend Gian Paulo (whose supervisor is Stephen Hawking). It was interesting to hear stories about the Cambridge Union from Dr. Johnson, who joined back in the 1960s. Similarly, Gian Paulo had loads of stories about Prof. Hawking. One of my favorites that he tells is how when he and Prof. Hawking were at Caltech for a couple months, students slept outside on the sidewalk so they could get tickets to one of Prof. Hawking’s big lectures.

After dinner I made my way to Sidney Sussex College to hear more celebrity gossip from a friend who went to school with Barbara Bush (the younger) at Yale. Apparently the naked parties there got even wilder than their name would suggest!

Left: Anne and me at Sidney Sussex.













THE MARATHON

I was all set to go see the new James Bond movie on Wednesday until I got a text message on my phone, “We’re having a dinner party and thought it would be appropriate to invite you and to celebrate your victory at the Union. It’s a 9 course meal with seven different wines.” Well I can tell you full well that my decision to postpone the movie plans was easier than actually finishing what would end up being a 10 course meal with 11 different wines.

We began eating around 7:30 pm. I missed the first bottle of wine but I was quickly caught up with the help of my generous host. The rest of the meal, which lasted until almost 1:00 am, is outlined in this menu that they created for the four other dinner guests.

While many of the foods were new to me, I did find the Gravadlax (smoked salmon marinated in sugar, salt, and dill) to be quite delicious. Of course the wines were good and it was really neat to taste different wines with different dishes. Without a doubt, the most exciting wine was the 1983 Riesling – it may be as close as I ever get to tasting a wine that’s as old as I am.


ST CATHERINE’S FORMAL

To help celebrate Christmas (again), I joined in the festivities at St. Catherine’s College. Another unusual Christmas dinner among other things taught me that in England, “Christmas pudding” refers to a bland cake that resembles devils food cake. To my host, Justin Bangs, the dessert that looked like chocolate cake did not taste AT ALL like chocolate cake.

Although the meal was ho-hum, the pre-dinner mulled wine was delicious and I especially enjoyed the hired carolers who serenaded us as we mingled in our black ties and warmed up with our mulled wine. The post dinner ‘bop’ was also quite nice and included a noteworthy funk band that managed to play old as well as new tunes that struck a chord with my predominantly American musical palate.

Despite the delicious food and entertainment, the highlight of the formal was actually neither. No, that honor went to Santa who shared a strange resemblance to Justin, and who managed to collect a large bag of non-perishable food items for a local charity:










Above: Justin as Santa (left) and Justin and me at the post-dinner bop (right).