STU students taste President Farooqi's Pakistani cuisine at community lunch

President Nauman Farooqi cooked alongside students from Hearty STU, Kaitlyn Hamming, Rebecca Osmond, and STU’s Campus Minister Claire Morrison. (Credit: Gisele Gallibois) 

Students at St. Thomas University swarmed Holy Cross House (HCH) to get a taste of President Farooqi’s Pakistani homeland cooking on Oct. 23. 

The lunch menu offered Tahiri, a rice dish with potatoes; raita, a yogurt-based side with vegetables; and Chicken Karahi curry.

Farooqi said he “loves to cook,” and recalled that as a graduate student in the U.S., he rarely had time to cook. 

“I wrote my mom and said, ‘Hey, you know, I can only have so many Big Macs … I need to have some of the kind of food I have at home.’’’

His mother sent him recipes for minced meat and lentils, and “for the next four months, it was mincemeat and lentils every single day.”

The last time Farooqi had cooked for students was two years ago at the Hearty STU, a community lunch hosted by Campus Ministry. He said he enjoyed connecting with students through food. 

“[Cooking is a] great connector … you can sit down with people and cook food, eating meals together,” he said. "You talk about stuff, you talk about life, hopes, challenges.”

Claire Morrison, STU’s Campus Minister, wearing a Pakistani tunic, hosted Farooqi for Hearty STU. (Credit: Peter Gross)

“I think it is really gratifying; it’s great to work for an institution where our top of the top is willing to come down to be with the students and staff in a really down-to-earth, very humble, beautiful way,” said Morrison. 

Morrison was excited to try his new Tahiri dish. 

President Nauman Farooqi preparing all the ingredients for his Pakistani dishes at Holy Cross House kitchen. (Credit: Peter Gross)

Kaitlyn Hamming, a third-year student, was eager to learn from Farooqi as a sous chef.

“It's awesome and lovely. I love communities, so cooking with people is really nice and also learning their recipes is really cool, because I don't cook much as a student and I’m busy all the time,” said Hamming. “The sense of community and that he cares for his students, because he's here with us cooking … it makes him seem more human, instead [of] oh my goodness, the president."

Becca Osmond, a third-year criminology and criminal justice student, said this activity made her feel like Farooqi was an equal, as well as curious to learn about his culture.

“I get a warm heart and it fills my heart to come and cook, but to cook with the president, you get to learn a lot about him.”