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Cornell University

Student & Campus Life

Last month's NS 4880 Dinners took student collaboration to tasty heights

by Mark H. Anbinder

Preparing a meal for hundreds of guests takes a little bit more than opening a cookbook and chopping some vegetables, and each spring semester, the students of NS 4880, the Applied Dietetics in Food Service Systems course in the Division of Nutritional Sciences, learn just how involved it can be. Students collaborate with Cornell Dining’s culinary teams to devise themed menus, arrange entertainment and marketing plans, and ultimately host their dinners in Cornell’s west campus dining rooms.

This semester's dinners featured an Asian Night Market at Cook House Dining Room, Cornellians Corn-nected! at Keeton House Dining Room, and Spring into Wonderland at Rose House Dining Room, taking this yearly student collaboration to tasty new heights.

At Cook House Dining Room, the dinner evoked the common night markets around Asia with a variety of food-vendor-themed menu items like Bao Buns, Korean Fried Chicken, and Thai Iced Tea.

A person behind a serving line serves food onto a plate being held by a guest
Smiling students with plates of food at a table, with more diners in the background
A closeup of bao buns in paper baskets

The punny Cornellians Corn-nected! dinner at Keeton House Dining Room was a gastronomic experience celebrating corn in its many culinary forms! Cornbread? Corn chowder? Corn tortillas? You name it!

Three dishes of food on a yellow tablecloth

The menu at Rose House Dining Room was curiouser and curiouser, as guests took a trip through the looking glass to a Wonderland-themed dinner.

A person wearing a jaunty small hat stands at the dining room front desk
Plates of food on blue and white tablecloths

Thanks to everyone who joined us for one or more of last month's NS 4880 Dinners! We look forward to seeing you at next year's special culinary events.

Photos by Ana Baquedano, Serena Chiang, and Eirini Williams.

About Cornell Dining

Cornell Dining is consistently ranked in the Princeton Review's top ten for best campus food among all colleges and universities in the country! That high rating comes from customer surveys, and reflects Cornell Dining's commitment to serving high-quality foods that are healthy and creatively prepared with genuine care for a diverse community. Cornell Dining operates over 30 on-campus eateries -- which include residential dining rooms, cafés, coffeehouses, food courts, and convenience stores -- and serves more than 23,000 meals a day to members of the Cornell community. For more information, visit dining.cornell.edu.