Winter 2023 Campus Dining Today - 47

Calzones, Ceviche & Char Siu
How cultural foods connect students on campus
Jonathan Xiang
student, class of 2025, Boston College
Phyllis Kaplowitz
executive chef, Boston College Dining Services
Sharon Sprague
senior associate director, marketing &
communications, Boston College
What defines a good dining experience: Is it the
quality of the food, the authenticity, the mood of
the dining hall, or the accessibility and price of the
food? At Boston College (BC), the dining team
believes a good dining experience also includes
inviting students to provide direct input in all
these factors. BC Dining Services (BCDS) asks
questions like, " How would your family prepare
this dish? What new dish that represents your
culture should we serve? Is there music or decor
we should incorporate? "
By connecting students with the dining team to
answer these questions, BCDS' Global Flavors
Program aims to appeal to BC's 15,000 students,
38 percent of which are students who identify as
Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, and/or
multiracial. The Global Flavors Program's goal is
to use food as a universal language to promote
inclusivity, diversity, and representation, bridging
cultures through food and culinary education.
The Global Flavors Program launched in 2020 to
collaborate with student cultural organizations on
developing new recipes that represent the global
flavors of their countries on BCDS' menus. The
process begins with the more-than 30 cultural
clubs Boston College has on campus, including
the Japan Club of BC, Cuban-American Student
Association, Hellenic Society, Il Circolo Italiano,
and others.
After an initial meeting with a club interested in
bringing their cuisine to campus, BCDS starts
the planning process. The first step is for BC's cultural
clubs and chefs to meet to discuss which dishes can
realistically be made with the resources on campus.
" When we meet with these clubs, we look to have
them present ideas first, " said BCDS Executive Chef
Phyllis Kaplowitz. " Many talk about recipes a mother,
father, or
grandparent
has made that
invoke their
own special
memories,
connecting
family with
food. At Boston
College, our
goal is to do
the same with
our BC family
internally, with
our staff, and
externally with
our student
body. "
After a few
brainstorming
sessions, the
dining team
prepares a tasting
with club members
and the chefs to see if any tweaks should be made.
With the student group's input, BCDS' goal is to make
the dish as authentic as possible.
" We try to partner our cultural clubs with an employee
from dining from the same region initially, " Kaplowitz
said. " For example, for the Hellenic dinner, we had
some of our Greek dining employees partner with the
students to prepare the event. "
After finalizing the menu, the student club and BCDS
SERVING AN APPETITE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL
| CAMPUS DINING TODAY
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Winter 2023 Campus Dining Today

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