One of the more fascinating parts of being the Director of Culinary Development at Nino’s is walking through our stores and guessing what our customers might be making for dinner by looking at the groceries in their carts.

And with such a diverse ethnicity in our Southeast Michigan area and an equally diverse selection of ingredients from all over the globe at Nino’s, my self-imposed guessing game can get to be pretty challenging sometimes.

Herbs and spices give me a pretty good clue because they’re often the defining ingredients of a cuisine.

This includes ingredients like sumac, turmeric, cumin, ground coriander or cardamom in the Middle East and ginger, garlic, cilantro, sesame, soy sauce and chilies in the Far East. Other times, it’s the combination of ingredients together. For example, chicken noodle soup would certainly come to mind if you saw one of our rotisserie chickens, some egg noodles, carrots, onions, celery and chicken broth all together in someone’s cart.

One reoccurring comment we hear is this: “If you’re looking for an ingredient for a special recipe, Nino’s probably has it!”

Nino’s certainly is a culinary resource for our communities. To celebrate both the diversity of our products and of our customers, Nino’s will host an International Taste Fest at both our Troy (6835 Rochester Rd.) and Clinton Township (17496 Hall Rd.) stores on Friday, March 28th through Sunday, March 30th. Our St. Clair Shores (27900 Harper Ave.) store will have limited sampling.

This is your chance to stroll through Nino’s many departments to experience, and taste for yourself, some of the delicious ingredients and dishes from all over the world that Nino’s is proud to offer.

Here’s a sneak peak!

• ITALY Ravioli, Ammoghio Sauce, Italian Desserts, LavAzza Espresso
• MIDDLE EAST Chicken Shawarma, Fattoush Salad, Hummus, Baklava
• GERMANY German Spaetzle Casserole
• CHINA Mongolian Pork
• JAPAN Mon Jin Lau Sushi
• MEXICO Homemade Guacamole and Tortilla Chips
• JAMAICA Ugli Fruit
• NEW ZEALAND Orange Roughy
• EUROPEAN UNION International Cheese Selections
• SOUTH AFRICA Robertson Winery Wine Selections

We’ll also share the recipes of some of these great dishes, so you can enjoy preparing them at home just as so many of our other customers do.

And for our customers who shop our Troy store, our Produce Prep Manager Sunny, who is Korean, has agreed to sample one of her favorite Korean salads. If you haven’t had the opportunity to meet Sunny and see her beautiful, traditional Korean Han Bok dress, it’s truly an event in itself.

Be sure to plan a trip to Nino’s during the last weekend of March to enjoy the sights, sounds and flavors of Nino’s International Taste Fest.

Sampling hours are:

Friday (March 28th) and Saturday (March 29th): 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday (March 30th) 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.