Ethnosh celebrates ethnic food in the Triangle

Local folks, global culture, and the story of ethnic food in the community...this is the concept behind Ethnosh.

Posted 6:45 p.m. Mar 31, 2014 — Updated 6:45 p.m. Mar 31, 2014

Hadassah Patterson

RALEIGH, N.C. — Local folks, global culture, and the story of ethnic food in the community…this is the concept behind Ethnosh.

The non-profit event series began in Greensboro with Face to Face GSO, Triad Local First, and Bluezoom {Advertising, Design, Chemistry}. Food travel and event professional Kristen Baughman, author of the GadAboutFood blog, approached them about bringing this unique experience to the Triangle, in collaboration with Shop Local Raleigh.

The purpose of Ethnosh is to connect local communities to the culture of the families that serve them. The ethnic story of the restaurant is conveyed by a photographer and writer team that visits the restaurant and chronicles the journey of its establishment and cultural background. Thus, the event is intended to be inspirational to the palate as well as the mind.

The restaurant then hosts the actual Ethnosh event, which is controlled by social media invite only and “signup” via Facebook. They usually take place on a slower night, such as Tuesday or Wednesday from 6-8 p.m., and the restaurant retains the $5 entrance charge for each attendee. The establishment in turn provides a sampler of its edible ethnic fare and gives a brief address to the crowd about hosting the event. The photographer-writer team may say a few words on the experience of working with them.

“The event is solely to help educate the community about new cultures and food, without a charge to the restaurant. The Ethnosh website is going to be up and running soon and will include profiles of each restaurant who has hosted an Ethnosh,” Baughman said.

Attending the event is much like a social mixer with small bites during cocktail hour; however, the cultural food exchange is a value-added bonus. One has the opportunity to broaden horizons and try dishes they may not have been exposed to otherwise. The atmosphere is lively and electric with high attendance rates from community-minded individuals. One event in Greensboro reached 130 people! During the last Ethnosh at Jose and Sons, participants were welcome to purchase a regular meal afterward or a drink from the bar to accompany their sampler dishes.

A few upcoming events will be: