On Monday, May 19, the new Student’s Kitchen can be found here on the ground floor in Aurora. Photo Resource Students will cook and sell meals in a vacant restaurant spot in Aurora. From Mediterranean cuisine to Balkan, Indian, Chinese, and Latin American dishes.
In recent months, the Student Council and catering company Compass Group have been working together to make the campus restaurants more accessible for students. As a result, the selection of meals has become more varied and affordable. In addition, a space is being created where students can sell their own meals: the Student’s Kitchen, which will open this coming Monday, May 19.
So say S&I Student Council members Reni Nanaj and Atharva Kulkarni. Nanaj: ‘For us, good and affordable food options on campus are an essential part of university life.’ Kulkarni: ‘The food that students eat gives them the energy they need to get through the long days on campus.’
With everything becoming more expensive rapidly in the last few years, the Student Council members wanted to look at possibilities for making the campus restaurants a bit more affordable. ‘We already mentioned this during last year’s election debate’, Nanaj says. ‘Also, we wanted to see if the menu could be more diverse and how we could use student input to improve the campus restaurants.’
Student involvement
They approached Machteld Holtkamp, the Compass Wageningen Campus catering manager, who was happy with the students’ initiative. ‘A lot of Wageningen students do food-related studies. It is important to get them involved, hear what they have to say, and, where possible, work together.’
Nanaj, Kulkarni, and Holtkamp started meeting each other every month. Has the collaboration with the Student Council also led to actual changes in the restaurants? Yes, says Holtkamp. ‘We used to have two hot meal options every day: a more expensive one and a one-pan meal. We took out the more expensive one, which was around 8 euros, because most people don’t eat that much for lunch anyway. In exchange, we added a more affordable street food option, which costs between 4.75 and 5.75.’
Student’s Kitchen
And now there is a new step in the collaboration: the student-run kitchen in Aurora. ‘When Reni and Atharva asked me about possibilities for students selling food on campus, I had to think of a vacant kitchen counter in Aurora,’ Holtkamp says. ‘I thought maybe it could be a permanent outlet where students can prepare and sell food.’ Nanaj: ‘What better way to get students involved than by letting them prepare and sell food themselves on campus? We want it to be a place where students from all backgrounds can cook food and showcase their culture.’ Compass will help the student-chefs to make sure they comply with the health code for food preparation in the Netherlands.
The opening week, which starts next Monday, is all about exploring the different cuisines of WUR, Kulkarni says. ‘From Mediterranean and Balkan food to Indian, Chinese, African and Latin American. Students from there can get a taste of home, and other students can try something new.’
The students hope that Wageningen culture- and food-related student groups will sign up to cook for the Student’s Kitchen, Ranaj says. ‘Students who are interested can send an email to s.i@wur.nl.’
