African American

We celebrate throughout the month of February the long and rich history of African Americans. We decorate the cafeteria with pictures and artwork of significant events and people that represent the heritage of African Americans. Our menu features a wide of popular items from the local community, including collard greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread, chicken livers, ham hocks, sweet potato pie, fried chicken, red velvet cake, macaroni and cheese, and dirty rice.

Irish

We usually pick the month of March to celebrate the beauty of Ireland because of St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th. We can’t serve green beer or Guinness Stout (darn!!), but our Chef is well versed in Irish cuisine. The meal usually consists of Irish Stew or Corned Beef and Cabbage with boiled potatoes and baby carrots. For breakfast or an afternoon snack, we certainly will feature scones of various flavors and the traditional shortbread. Along with our green decorations and a blarney stone or two, we’ll test the luck of the Irish by having a drawing for some lottery tickets and other prizes. Be sure to bring your lucky 4 leaf clover.

Spanish/Mexican

The celebration of Cinco de Mayo is the main focus for the month of May. Upon entering the cantina, I mean cafeteria, we’ll start you off with a virgin Margarita complete with salt on the rim and fresh wedge of lime. Frozen or on the rocks, you won’t be disappointed. Be sure to enjoy the complementary nacho chips and fire sauce with your mocktail. For lunch, your choice of soft or hard shell tacos, meat or cheese enchiladas, or beef and bean burritos. Lunch is served with refried beans, Spanish rice, and a corn casserole. For dessert, fried ice cream of course. Have some fun with our Cactus Ring Toss and take a shot at our pinnate. Who says Xochimilco has better tortillas?

Japanese

From the land of the Rising Sun, we offer some of unique tastes of the Far East. Variety FoodServices is very familiar with the cooking of the Japanese because, for the past 15 years, we have employed Japanese chefs at our Mazda/Auto Alliance account in Flat Rock and have served authentic Japanese cuisine daily. Our menu would include Miso soup and Sushi to start with. We’ll supply the chop sticks so that you can try our Yakitori or Tonkatsu, both served with Gohan (sticky rice). For dessert, try a Mochi cake with your green tea

Chinese

We give you another chance to try your skill at using chop sticks with the Chinese fare that we offer in this celebration of the Far East. With music of the Orient playing and flags and decorations displayed, we would welcome you to the cafeteria. Though we won’t make you remove your shoes or sit on the floor at low tables, we will dazzle you with our menu.

German

We hold this event in October to coincide with the tradition of Oktoberfest, which is celebrated so widely in Europe. We try to portray the fun and merriment of the event by supplying music, decorations, and contests to give everyone a feel for Germany with this gala time. We’ll have a few beer steins to give away (empty, of course!) and a wonderful meal. We’ll serve bratwurst, Wiener schnitzel, red cabbage, hot German potato salad, with apple strudel and German chocolate cake for dessert. By the end of the lunch period, we’ll even have a sing-along to put everyone in a jovial mood (or make them want to back to work).

Native American

Native American—We celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional American way as the Native Americans and the Pilgrims did as our country was in its formation. We’ll schedule this event about a week before the actual Thanksgiving Day so as not to burn people out on turkey, dressing, etc. The meal will consist of all the trimmings—roast turkey, cornbread stuffing, real mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, sweet potatoes, fresh vegetables, cranberry sauce, and assorted relishes. If you still have room left for dessert, we have apple pumpkin pie. If we really wanted to finish with a real American tradition, we’d have football on the T.V. and relatives sleeping on sofas after dinner. Instead, we’ll have a football-related contest with several prizes to the winners.

Arab-American/Middle Eastern

We end our around the world journey with a stop in the Middle East and a taste of Arab-American cuisine. With the largest population of Arab-Americans in our country just around the corner in Dearborn, most of us have tried their food and are familiar with its distinctive taste. Our menu will include hummus, baba ghannouge, tabbouli, fattoush, and chicken shawarma. For dessert, we will serve baklawa, slightly different than the Greek dessert but with less honey.