For MSU students, a Combo-X-Change swipe can now do more than cover a meal. It can become a cooking class, a cultural experience or even a multi-course dinner.
MSU Culinary Services’ Experiential Dining program offers students with an active dining plan a unique and interactive way to use their CX swipes. Through a series of limited-capacity events, students can step beyond the traditional dining hall experience to cook alongside chefs, explore food traditions and discover new flavors.
Experiences this fall range from making crepes and pierogies from scratch to exploring desserts from different cultures and sitting down for a five-course meal featuring ingredients grown at MSU’s Organic Farm.
For the chefs behind the events, the programs also create an opportunity to share the skills, traditions and stories that influence their work.
Learning by Doing
The fall lineup began Oct. 7 with The Art of the Crepe, a sold-out experience led by South Pointe at Case Sous Chef Bill Cruz. Inspired by the popularity of the made-to-order crepes served at Case Hall, Cruz designed the experience to give students a closer look at a menu item they may already know and enjoy.
Students learned about the history and versatility of crepes before stepping behind the station themselves to prepare, cook and fill their own creations using sweet and savory ingredients.
Rather than simply enjoying a prepared meal, Cruz says the experience combines education, creativity and hands-on preparation.
“My goal is for students to have a fun and memorable experience while gaining a greater appreciation for the art of crepe-making,” Cruz says. “I hope they left with new culinary knowledge, a few practical skills and inspiration to recreate what they have learned in their own kitchens.”
That same emphasis on learning by doing will continue Nov. 20 during ‘Dough It’ Yourself: Hands-On Pierogi Making Class, led by Executive Sous Chef for East Neighborhood dining Douglas Reska at Sparty’s Market at Holmes.
Students will make fresh pierogies from beginning to end, from rolling dough and preparing filling to shaping and cooking their finished creations. Along the way, Reska will also introduce students to the history and traditions surrounding the Polish comfort food.
For Reska, the experience has a personal connection. His inspiration came from making pierogies with family, including his Polish grandfather.
“Pierogies are approachable, fun to make and provide a great way to introduce students to scratch cooking and techniques that they could use beyond this event, too,” Reska says.
Unlike an everyday trip to a dining hall, he says students become part of the process.
“They’re going to be hands-on, learning about the product, learning about the ingredients, acquiring skills as well,” Reska says.
Exploring Culture Through Food
For other chefs, Experiential Dining Events provide a way to connect students with the stories and cultures behind what they eat.
On Nov. 5, Sous Chef Robert Shipman from The Gallery at Snyder/Phillips led It’s a Michigan Class: Learn to Make Pasties from Scratch.
Students prepared traditional Michigan pasties, learned how to make the dough and filling and practiced folding the pastry themselves.
The dish also gave Shipman an opportunity to introduce students to a piece of Michigan history.
Pasties are pocket pies traditionally filled with meat and vegetables. Shipman explained they originated in Cornwall, England, as portable meals for miners before becoming closely associate with Michigan’s Upper Peninsula through immigrant mining communities.
The tradition has a personal connection for Shipman as well. His wife’s family is Finnish, and he became involved with the Finnish community in the Detroit area through her family. Making pasties became part of those family traditions.
Shipman hoped the class would encourage students to become curious not only about pasties, but about the connections between foods across cultures.
“The more the cultures are different, the more they’re the same,” Shipman said, pointing to foods such as dumplings, pierogies, ravioli, calzones and other versions of meals enclosed in dough.
The cultural exploration continues Nov. 12 during The Sweet Side of Culture: Dessert Creations, led by Sous Chef Luke Kempisty at the Vista at Shaw.
Students will travel through different culinary traditions by working with three desserts: caramel apples, Brazilian brigadeiros and classic French chocolate bonbons.
The selections each have a different inspiration. Kempisty’s fiancée, who is from Brazil, introduced the inspiration for the brigadeiros. Caramel apples offer a classic American fall dessert, while Kempisty began making French bonbons as a hobby and continued developing the skill.
Students will get hands-on experience making caramel apples and brigadeiros while watching a demonstration of the chocolate bonbons, with an emphasis on presentation and decoration.
Kempisty is especially excited to introduce students to brigadeiros because of how simple and versatile they can be.
He hopes the class encourages students to express themselves creatively through food and perhaps leave with something new to make for friends and family.
“I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge in the kitchen,” says Kempisty. “I have done this all my life, so it’s easy to forget that not everyone knows how to do these types of things. Giving someone that little bit of info feels nice.”
From the Farm to the Table
Experiential Dining can also introduce students to where their food begins.
On Oct. 14, Executive Chef Dustin Ignash and Sous Chef Joe Balander will host the Student Organic Farm-to-Fork Feast: Chef’s Table Edition in Brody Square’s Alice Creyts Room.
The evening will feature a five-course plated meal using ingredients grown at MSU’s Student Organic Farm. Students will experience restaurant-style service while enjoying an appetizer, soup, salad, entrée and dessert created by the Culinary Services team.
The concept grew from the chefs’ desire to showcase the Student Organic Farm and the partnership between the farm and Culinary Services.
One dish Ignash and Balander are especially excited to introduce is a smoked watermelon radish tartare, which highlights the versatility of farm-grown ingredients in an unexpected way.
The chefs hope students leave with a better understanding of the Student Organic Farm and its connection to food served across campus.
“It’s truly unique to have a student-run organic farm that can supply fresh ingredients to our campus dining program,” says Ignash.
They are also looking forward to encouraging students to venture beyond foods and flavors they already know.
“I’m most looking forward to giving students the opportunity to experience something new and step outside their culinary comfort zone,” says Ignash.
More Than a Meal
The fall series will conclude in December with the Dickens Dinner: Classic English-Inspired Dinner, at the Kellogg Center’s State Room. State Room chefs will create a seven-course English-inspired dinner drawing from “A Christmas Carol,” and the atmosphere of a traditional holiday meal.
Although each event offers something different, they share a goal of giving students opportunities to engage with food beyond simply eating it.
The smaller environments also allow Culinary Services chefs to interact more closely with students and showcase parts of their craft that they may not always be visible during day-to-day dining operations.
Experiential Dining “allows us chefs to kind of shine outside of what we do on a day-to-day basis,” Reska says.
Whether students leave knowing how to fold a pierogi, make a pasty, decorate a dessert, or with a new appreciation for where their food comes from, or even having made a new friend, the experiences are designed to offer something they can carry beyond the table.
Experience it Yourself
All students with an active dining plan are invited to participate in Experiential Dining events. Registration is prepaid using CX swipes, with admission ranging from three to four CX swipes for the fall events. Seating is limited, and registration dates vary by event. Upcoming events include:
- The Sweet Side of Culture — Nov. 12
- Sous Chef Luke Kempisty
- “Dough It” Yourself — Nov. 20
- Executive Sous Chef Douglas Reska
- Dickens Dinner — Dec. 1 or 8
- State Room Restaurant Chefs
Author: Daniela Del Castillo