| Dining Center’s Latino dinner offers students a change of pace |
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| Written by Kirby Radomski, Daily Vidette Staff Writer |
| Monday, 05 October 2009 01:11 |
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If students are looking to add a little spice to their life, then they definitely don’t want to miss out on Monday’s Latino dinner in the dining centers. In accordance with Hispanic Heritage month, the Diversity Advocacy, Campus Dining Services and UNITY are sponsoring a Latino dinner as part of Meals around the World. The Latino dinner will be presented in the dining halls from 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday evening. Starting September 15 and ending October 15, Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes the Hispanic heritage and culture as well as the contributions of this culture to the United States. Hispanic Heritage month celebrates the independence of Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, as well as Mexico and Chili. According to the Dean of Students Office website, Meals around the World encourages students to celebrate and learn about different cultures by experiencing foods from around the world. For the Latino dinner, students can visit a residence hall dining center and enjoy some Latino cuisine. Information tables featuring resources on Latino culture, countries and diversity events on campus will be available for students to learn more about the culture. “The purpose of the event is to expose students to different kinds of foods and cultures, to raise awareness and to advertise the upcoming diversity events on campus,” Lisa Floyd, a graduate assistant and diversity advocate in the Dean of Students Office, said. “Diversity Advocacy is always looking for ways to collaborate with other departments on campus. One of the initiatives we have is to become more visible on campus. By doing this event in the dining centers, we are hoping students will begin to recognize our name and attend our programs,” she added. “Students really seem to enjoy the special meal events we have in the dining centers. We receive feedback in a variety of ways. Some tell our staff during the events how much they enjoy it. Some take the time to fill out comment cards or e-mail the Campus Dining general e-mail. We also keep in close contact with ARH [Association of Resident Halls] government and seek their input and feedback through the students they represent on the events we hold,” Tracy Widergren, the marketing coordinator for Campus Dining Services, said. “Each dining center holds between two and three special meal events each month, in addition to partnered events such as this meal,” Widergren added. When it comes to bringing Meals around the World to the dining centers, special preparation goes into cooking the meals, such as tonight’s Latino dinner. The unit chefs and sous chefs will prepare the meals with support from the culinary staff, Tim Gump, executive chef at Campus Dining Services, said. A sous chef assists the executive chef in supervising food production for all events and locations. The same dining experience will be shared by all the dining halls. Students can enjoy a wide variety of Latino foods at the dining centers, he said. Gump went on to describe the Latino Dinner menu that the chefs plan to prepare. The Latino entrée consists of Pollo Sartan (Pan Fried Chicken) and Espaguetis (Dominican Spaghetti). These entrees will be accompanied by Potatas Bravas (Potatoes with Paprika Sauce), Berenjenas Gratinadas (Eggplant Au Gratin) and Arroz Guetemalteco (Guatemala Style Rice). For dessert, students can treat themselves to Platanoz Fritis (Fried Bananas with chocolate sauce) and Tres Leche Cake (Milk Cake). With so many options to choose from, students will easily be able to enjoy a change from their everyday dining experiences. Gump said that the chefs had offered different Latino based cuisine previously, but students can look for a variety of Meals around the World dinners in the future. Campus Dining is always looking for opportunities to partner with different university and student organizations to hold events such as this Latino dinner. “Any time we can combine a great meal with raising awareness and educating students we will do our best to be a part of that initiative,” Widergren said. So if anyone is in need of a change of pace when it comes to your dining experiences on campus, be sure not to pass up this opportunity to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month by enjoying some Latino cuisine. |
