This year marked the 13th annual Taste of Newark food festival, an event that brings the University of Delaware and Newark communities together to taste dozens of the city’s best restaurants and wine distributors.

It was the first Taste of Newark festival for UD President Dennis Assanis and his wife, Eleni, who were guests of honor at the event. Newark Mayor Polly Sierer welcomed them, and they both thanked the University and Newark communities for the warm welcome.

On the lawn in front of Old College, Taste of Newark guests enjoyed Marriott Courtyard Newark’s crab cakes, named “Best of Delaware” for the past six years in a row, UDairy Creamery’s distinctive ice creams and other classic Delaware favorites, as well as wines from Southern Wine and Spirits, United Distributors of Delaware and Deerfield Wines.

'A crash course'

For Sarah Wood, Reilly Scott and Holly Pyles -- three of the UD hospitality students who staffed the Taste of Newark festival –the event provided a crash course in hosting a first-class festival.

“It prepares you for the real world,” said Pyles. “This event is cool because it shows you that an event isn’t just wedding planning. There’s a whole scope to hospitality… the foods, the events and music, and everything that has to come together.”

UD hospitality students had been planning this event since last year’s Taste of Newark ended, and Scott added that even the smallest details are crucial.

For example: “Certain booths can’t be next to each other,” Scott said. “Not in a competitive way, but certain foods complement other foods. I didn’t know that going into this.

“It’s like seating at a wedding: Those two cousins can’t be seated next to each other.”

And the students’ favorite part of Taste of Newark?

“I like to see how much people enjoy it,” Pyles said. Scott added that Newark community members at the festival were excited to talk with UD students about their studies.

“A lot of people were interested in what we’re doing in school,” she said. “It was fun to explain to them all of the different parts that we actually do in this degree.”

Sheryl Kline, chairperson of UD’s Department of Hospitality Business Management, said that for students like Wood, Scott and Pyles, their Taste of Newark experience gives them an advantage in the job market.

Planning and managing a festival makes a great addition to résumés, “particularly if they’re interested in jobs in sales and marketing and event planning, where people put on festivals throughout the world,” Kline said.

“Our students get that experience right here in Newark.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it,” she continued. “It takes a lot of logistics; it takes a lot of planning and management. So they learn this in the classroom, but then they do it. And I can’t think of a better way to learn than with real people at a real festival.

“The students make it look easy, but let me tell you, it takes about a year to plan so that it goes flawlessly,” Kline added. “The only thing we can’t plan on is the weather.”

A day of dining, music and learning

Fortunately, this year’s weather was perfect. Along with the sunny weather, attendees were treated to live music and a silent auction, along with a cooking demonstration from Ronnie Burkle of SoDel Concepts.

Burkle, accompanied by Tim Furlong of NBC10 Philadelphia, showed attendees how to create a lobster, chorizo and duck egg omelet and a poached egg salad with bacon vinaigrette.

If you’re curious about why Burkle chose duck eggs, he said, “They’re really rich, they’re really flavorful, they have twice the benefits as a chicken egg and they’re twice as big.”

Burkle and Furlong also discussed how Burkle became passionate about the restaurant industry. As a young teenager working his first job at a café at the Delaware beaches, Burkle said the café’s chef taught him a great deal about cooking and more.

“I really formed a passion around the industry as a whole, just being around all the different people and learning from them culturally.”

Beyond learning about food, Burkle said, “Learning about life through the restaurant business was great.”

In the midst of all of this fun, Taste of Newark supports important organizations throughout Newark.

“There are several aims of this festival,” Kline said. “One is to bring the town together with the University.” By strengthening this “town and gown” relationship, UD “builds partnerships and a sense of community from academia to Main Street,” she said.

The festival also supports scholarships for hospitality business management students, the Newark Arts Alliance and the Downtown Newark Partnership, which helps to beautify Main Street and supports Main Street’s Restaurant Week.

Also crucial to Taste of Newark are local community sponsors. This year’s presenting sponsors included WSFS, Louviers Federal Credit Union and Newark Jeep Dodge.

“We all work together for a great cause,” Kline said.