Students at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich., have numerous dining options, including 10 all-you-care-to-eat dining halls, a food truck and 20 convenience stores. Here are five stealable ideas the FSD team came across when touring the university’s dining operations earlier this month.
Inspired by the Michigan State student-athletes who sign their names and leave a message on a wall inside the locker room before they graduate, Corporate Chef of Culinary Services Kurt Kwiatkowski has his student interns sign a brick in one of the campus kitchens before they leave.
2. Host a cooking competition with student-athletes
MSU Dining partners with different sports teams each year to host a cooking competition based on the popular TV series “Chopped.” Ahead of the competition, Kwiatkowski spends some time teaching the athletes basic cooking and knife skills.
Parents can give students a little boost during finals week with care packages from on-campus bakery MSU Bakers. The packages are filled with different pastries, can be ordered online and are delivered to students on campus.
At the MSU Union, students can enjoy three different concepts (Street Tacos, Unbelieva-Bowl and The Roost) after other dining options have closed. In addition to their daytime hours, each concept is open from 8 p.m. until midnight Sunday through Thursday, and the dining team says the later hours are popular with students.
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Photograph by FSD staff
5. Make a signature menu item for sporting events
Fans attending an MSU basketball game can enjoy an ice cream cookie sandwich made with ice cream from the MSU Dairy and cookies from the school’s in-house bakery. The local treat is available only at the stadium during game days.
