Dining Services Collaboration In Washington State University Brings Taste To Student Courses

Twenty-two students in Professor Jolie Kaytes’ Landscape Architecture 150 class gathered recently at the Hillside Café on the Pullman campus, where WSU Dining Services had prepared a Palouse- inspired meal for them.

For those unfamiliar with the class, it may not be evident why Kaytes includes a community meal as part of her course curriculum, which examines the landscapes of the Palouse. During the gathering she explained that every food on the table has a story about the people who cultivated it on the Palouse — the greens from WSU’s organic farm, rolls made from local grains, lentils grown on the Palouse, and apple crisp made from WSU’s popular Cosmic Crisp apples, topped off with ice cream made at the WSU Creamery.

“By partaking in this meal, you become part of that story,” Kaytes told the students. “Just as your meal is multi-layered, so is the Palouse landscape. Knowing the meaning behind the apple — how it got to be on your plate and the people who were involved in breeding it, or those who grew the greens — is a very powerful thing if you ponder it.”

Before taking the class, first-year student Raquel Sanchez had no idea so many types of food are bred and grown on the Palouse.

“Having met a bunch of local people in class who produce food, and now getting to eat it, has showed me the hills around here are much more important than I ever imagined,” Sanchez said.

It is this kind of “aha” moment that Kaytes and the Dining Services team hoped students would experience when they began collaborating.

“The lunch gave us a greater appreciation for the hard work that goes into producing the food we eat,” said junior Adam Hindle. “What starts with the farmers, the dairies, and creameries — their work has a ripple effect throughout our community.”

Planning innovative menus
The “Palouse Meal” was the latest of several special events Dining Services planned with academic departments this semester. Early in the fall, chefs worked with the College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences to showcase food produced within the college or bred by its researchers. Dining also partnered with First-Year Focus to create the Dining with Faculty Program, where 20 instructors and teaching assistants met weekly with their students over meals in the dining centers to promote informal discussion. They even teamed up with the School of Music to bring live jazz to Northside Café.

“These collaborations often bring about unique opportunities for the chefs because it enables them to showcase their skills and do something different from their day-to-day routines,” said Jason Butcherite, associate director of residential dining. “They have fun planning innovative menus.”

Creating a transformational experience
Dining Services’ next big collaborative project will take place Jan. 31, when all three dining centers will serve food associated with this year’s Common Reading Program book, “Braiding Sweetgrass.” The book’s author, Robin Wall Kimmerer, will give a virtual presentation to the WSU community that evening at 6 p.m.

Food is a common theme throughout the book, First-Year Programs Director Karen Weathermon said, as Kimmerer discusses the interconnectedness between different types of crops and how that interconnectedness expands to people and the world at large.

Among the foods featured in the book are wild strawberries, pecans, maple syrup, beans, corn, and squash — items the chefs will use to create a special menu for the event.

“Collaborating with Dining Services provides an opportunity for students to smell and taste these foods, which adds breadth to what students are learning in the classroom,” said Weathermon. “I encourage faculty and staff to explore opportunities like this, as they provide a different way to interact with students and gain insight into their lives.”

Such collaborations, Butcherite said, let the dining team practice a philosophy it holds dear — that university dining should be a transformational experience for students, not just a transactional one.

“We strive to do more than just feed students,” he said. “By working with our academic partners, we can provide students with experiential education that enhances their knowledge about the food they eat.”