On December 8, 2022, an article was published in the Student Movement titled “Bon Appétit and the Threat to Cultural Autonomy.” The article discussed rumors regarding agreements between Bon Appétit and Andrews University that may limit the freedom cultural clubs have to prepare food for events. Then, on January 3 of this year, an official email was sent out with information about the contract between Bon Appétit and Andrews University, finally putting the rumors to rest. The email outlines regulations that must be followed for all events associated with Andrews University, informing students that “Bon Appétit has the exclusive right to provide and manage the food service program for the campus of Andrews University, including any selling and catering of food for campus events and activities.” The email does say that in special circumstances, student organizations may obtain approval to serve food if a prior plan is made about how the preparation and distribution will be performed. Although this makes sense from a food safety standpoint—it is easier for the university to ensure food safety practices are followed if catering is done by Bon Appétit employees—it does present cultural clubs with challenges when hosting events. Either they have to go through many hoops to procure approval and prepare food themselves, or entrust the job to people who may have little to no experience preparing authentic food from their culture.
In response to the recently released policies, the Student Movement is starting a series asking for people’s reactions to various questions related to the new agreements. This week’s question is, “Do you think Bon Appétit (the cafe) is good at making food from your culture?”
Ntakirutimana Francine (junior, biology): “The only time the cafe has ever made food from my culture was on Black History Month. It was okay but I don’t think it was presented in a way that gave a positive light to my culture.”
Dayana Abou Haykal (junior, biology): “The cafeteria doesn’t really prepare something from my culture. Hummus is the only thing that I can think about, and compared to how we prepare it, it is very bad here.”
Guillermo Acevedo (junior, architecture): “As a Hispanic, our food culture is very diverse and full of flavor, creating a great dancing sensation in your taste buds, making every bite one takes an experience. Being able to replicate that is a challenge by itself, especially when produced for hundreds of people on a daily basis, but I have seen it done in many other restaurants and buffets around the world. I would personally say that Bon Appétit has terribly failed in this, taking shortcuts in order to produce things in time, rather than properly, focusing more on making things edible rather than good.”
Franky Paypa (graduate, physical therapy): “They have tried a few dishes in the past, like pancit. It was very bland and lacked a lot of the authentic flavors that define what pancit is, and it seemed more of just a generic rice noodle dish than an actual representation of one of our staple Filipino foods.”
Esfir Zavricico (junior, accounting and finance): “I consider myself a TCK (third-culture kid), meaning I was born in one country (Azerbaijan), but grew up in a couple of different countries (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey). I grew up eating plov, rice with layers of different things; dolma, stuffed grape leaves; piti, chickpea soup; gutab, patty pies stuffed with greens and white cheese; dovga, sour yogurt soup; and etc. I haven't seen foods from my culture in the Bon Appetit cafeteria yet, but they make a lot of good foods from [other] countries and I like it so much because I get to try new foods that I haven't tried before.”
Yishan Jin (senior, biochemistry): “Overall I give them a 6. It is a little overpriced, not gonna lie.”
Bianca Loss (sophomore, elementary education): “I’m from New England and the chowders here just aren’t the same. However, I do appreciate the cafe’s attempt at making food from different areas and cultures. Even if it doesn’t taste the same, it’s a nice way to try to help people feel more at home.”
Gabriel Rojas (freshman, international business): “I would say Bon Appétit is good at making Americanized versions of food from cultures I have been in. That can be good because it’s more tolerable for everyone but also a con as the food might be quite different from the original.”
Kevin Alba (sophomore, agribusiness): “I think they do a decent job for some dishes, but other dishes definitely are more Americanized.”
Zoe Shiu (senior, psychology): “I can only speak for the two cultures I have been immersed in, but I definitely avoid the cafeteria on days they serve Chinese or Thai food.”
Kavya Mohanram (sophomore, biology): “I think that Bon Appétit does not make authentic Indian food. Rather, they substitute turmeric for every spice and name it akin to an Indian dish. However, the food they make is healthy, and I prefer it to other dishes at Andrews since it has some hints of flavor from home.”
Although the cafeteria does attempt to make dishes from other cultures, they do not always meet people’s expectations. It’s important to remember that not all Bon Appétit employees have experience preparing authentic dishes from other countries. Thus, the assumption that the cafeteria chefs should be able to masterfully craft dishes from a variety of different countries is an unfair expectation to place on them. Thankfully, it appears as if there will be at least some opportunities for our cultural clubs to continue to serve the authentic dishes we love to try.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.