Med Fest brings Greek & Middle Eastern eats to the West End
It’s Saturday morning and St. Michael Orthodox Christian Church smells downright delicious.
Along the wall of a large room, 24 16-quart pots sit in a row with butter and garlic resting at the bottom of each one.
A dozen or so people are seated at a massive table in the center of the room, each working diligently to fill cabbage leaves with a fragrant mixture of ground beef, rice and spices. They make small talk in a combination of Arabic and English, greeting newcomers warmly with “Christ is risen.”
When they make enough cabbage rolls to fill a pot, everyone cheers loudly.
“It helps us keep going,” Tammy Haddad tells me before scurrying back into the kitchen.
Since early February, Haddad and dozens of church volunteers have been working every weekend — and often during the week — to create thousands of Middle Eastern and Greek dishes from scratch.
St. Michael’s Mediterranean Festival started as a humble church fundraiser, an opportunity for congregants to get together and cook the Greek and Middle Eastern dishes that remind them of home and family.
But their cooking proved so delicious that this little fundraiser has blossomed into a hugely popular all-day fest that last year fed 7,000 people.
It takes a lot of hummus to feed that many hungry mouths.
“It’s just really gone, well, viral,” Haddad said. “It’s really become a gathering of our community.”
It’s become a gathering of local foodies as well — and for good reason. Every item is made from scratch, with most of it cooked the day before the fest. The church makes its own seasoning blends and relies on dozens of volunteers to prepare dishes in the weeks leading up to the fest.
The gyros and kabobs are an obvious fan favorite — and often run out early — but we scour this fest for the uncommon goods like awamat, a Lebanese donut served in rose water and simple syrup. There’s also spanakopita, a beautifully savory and crumbly pastry made with filo dough, spinach and feta.
They serve both Middle Eastern and Greek coffee, along with iced versions of both. There’s beer and wine, too — and it’s hard to find anything more refreshing than a cold bottle of Greek beer on a warm Saturday afternoon.
And you just haven’t lived until you’ve crumbled fresh, warm baklava over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
The aforementioned cabbage rolls are part of a plate lunch served inside the church. This year, they prepared 6,500 cabbage rolls to make up 1,200 lunch plates.
“Last year we made a little over 5,000 and it wasn’t enough,” Haddad said.
It seems nearly impossible for Med Fest to quell the hunger its food invokes. Last year, their massive store of food started to run dry at 3 p.m.
Of course, food isn’t the only part of Greek and Middle Eastern culture that’s celebrated at Med Fest. All day long there’s live music and traditional dancing, along with a massive kids’ area and a bazaar filled with jewelry, herbs and everything you need to make a strong cup of Greek coffee.
But the food is what keeps us coming back year after year.
Despite their stores of 800 baklava, 4,500 grape leaves and 16 gallons of hummus, it’s best to eat early and often.
Because when the food runs out, you’ll have to wait ‘til next year to get your next fix.
St. Michael Mediterranean Festival
When: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday
Where: St. Michael Orthodox Christian Church, 690 North 15th St., Beaumont
Cost: Free admission, food and beverage coupons $1 each
Source: blog.beaumontenterprise.com