“Queer Eye” food connoisseur Antoni Porowski spoke to a full house in Jesse Auditorium on April 11. Tickets were sold out and lines started to form before 6 p.m. even though the event started at 7 p.m. By 6:30, the two lines were already making their way outside Jesse Hall.

The talk was mediated by Sean Olmstead, coordinator of the MU LGBTQ Resource Center. However, the “evening of conversation with Antoni Porowski,” as MU Stuff To Do called the event, had more than just chatting. After telling Olmstead all about his early life and how it changed after “Queer Eye,” Porowski got to cooking. He made a vinaigrette with carrots straight out of his new cookbook “Antoni in the Kitchen.”

He also mentioned how welcome he felt when filming the third season of “Queer Eye” in Kansas City. Porowski said the Fab Five got to the city with a list of businesses’ names who welcomed the show crew with open arms, which made Kansas City natives in the crowd cheer loudly.

Behind the organization of the event was the Campus Activities Programming Board. Rachel Trokey, speaker’s chair of CAPB, mentioned how CAPB organizes its events and speakers and how long it takes to organize evenings like this one.

“We’ve been in contact with him for a while now,” Trokey said. “ When I got here in January, I started looking for next year’s speakers. [His talk] was already in the plans.”

She also talked about why they chose Porowski to come speak to MU students.

“When we want a speaker, we think of who will fit our mission statement and who will connect with the students,” Trokey said.

Ruby Wu, CAPB multicultural committee chair, said Porowski really connected with the students.

“He was very kind and was not in a rush to leave at all,” Wu said. “When you meet him, he’s not just a celebrity. He’s this dorky happy guy that doesn’t shy away from his fans.”

While cooking, Porowski told anecdotes about his time filming “Queer Eye” and even mentioned episodes of the show filmed in Japan, which he wasn’t very sure if he could talk about in order to avoid spoilers. He was constantly connecting with his audience and sharing advice.

“Food should tell a story,” Porowski said to the audience. “The heart and the stomach are connected.”

_Edited by Janae McKenzie | jmckenzie@themaneater.com_