When the University of Vermont (UVM) Dining team began planning to bring back their annual campus culinary competition, they wanted to shake things up a bit. One of their goals was to get students involved and look to them for some inspiration of more authentic recipes from around the world.
“UVM has a diverse population of students, including a growing international student body,” UVM Dining Senior Communications and Marketing Manager Heather Winther said. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are important values of our university, Sodexo and our team members, so we thought the best way to create a culinary event this was to invite students to have a larger role in the process.
“Our catering team frequently collaborates with student clubs, inviting them into our kitchens to prepare authentic recipes for their cultural events and holidays. The UVM Dining team hoped to bring this level of engagement to more student clubs and invite the entire community to enjoy.”
The result was the Catamount Culinary Showcase, an event held at the end of March that invited the campus community to sample dishes made by teams of students and campus chefs.
Seven teams of three or more students each applied for the showcase with what dish they wanted to make and why this dish was important to them or their community. Some teams were groups of friends, and some were affiliated with campus groups, such as the Armenian Student Association, Hillel, and the Student Government Finance Committee.