Featured Event of the Week = Taste of Home
Providing Students a "Taste of Home"
The experience of University life is exciting, but it can also be stressful for many new students who are away from home for the first time. Days filled with new learning opportunities, friends, and surroundings can create a new sense of independence. But there are often times that the rush of new experiences can lead to a longing for home. That is one of the many reasons why Dining Services offers the "Taste of Home" program each November.
How did this program get started?
The Taste of Home program began in the mid 1980's when Carole Davis, then Director of Dining Services, attended a National Association of College and University Foodservice (NACUFS) conference where an award was given to a university for implementing a similar program. Carole brought this idea back to UNC, and the Taste of Home tradition has been around for over 20 years now.
These days, we start working on the Taste of Home program long before the students are even thinking about being homesick. We start assembling information and begin planning during June and July. Our friends in the Housing & Residence Life department send a “Bear Welcome" newsletter to the parents of students living in the Residence Halls in August. Within this newsletter, there is a section that explains the upcoming Taste of Home event. During September, Dining Services sends out postcards to these same parents asking them to share their student's favorite recipes. This year we received over 150 recipes in a just over 2 weeks. The Dining Services team reviewed the list of recipes, and 45 recipes were selected to be prepared in Holmes Dining Hall, Tobey-Kendel Dining Room, and the University Center Food Court during Wednesdays in November.
Towards the end of October, a congratulations letter is sent to the parents and students whose recipes will be featured, and a special invitation is extended for them to to join us during the Taste of Home event. This is often an exciting experience for parents (and students) to see their favorite recipe prepared for hundreds of people.
How can You Sample these Featured recipes?
The 45 recipes that were selected will be prepared by Dining Services cooks during lunch and dinner at the dining locations mentioned earlier. Customers are encouraged to sample each dish and vote for their favorites. The recipes that receive the most votes are evaluated to see if they could be added to the Spring menus. These featured recipes often become a regular part of the menus offered by Dining Services, and many are customer favorites which are requested again and again.
"Comfort Food" has a very different meaning now than it did in the past. There are many diverse cultures and backgrounds represented here at UNC, each having their own reference to memories of childhood and foods that bring them a sense of comfort and memories of home. We encourage everyone to visit the dining rooms in the weeks to come to sample the flavors of our student’s diverse backgrounds. Vote for your favorites and let us know which ones you would like to see again. We appreciate all the efforts of the parents who participate in this program and share their personal “Taste of Home.”
How can You get one of the recipes?
Once the recipes have been logged into our database, all recipes are entered into the “Taste of Home Recipe Book.” The 2009 recipe book is available now for anyone to download from the Taste of Home page on the Dining Services website, as well as selections from 2008 and 2007.
Join us for taste of home on Wednesdays in November
Join us for lunch or dinner at any of our dining locations to participate in the 2009 Taste of Home program. We are very proud of this program, and we'd like to share it with you!
Click here to see a schedule of Taste of Home recipes.
Wednesdays in November = 4th, 11th, and 18th
- Lunch @ the University Center Food Court
- Lunch and Dinner @ Tobey-Kendel Dining Room and Holmes Dining Hall
We hope you enjoy these recipes!
Don’t forget to look at our menus to see what other fabulous menu items await you this week. Information gathered from: jeffersoninstitute.org and amaranthinstitute.org