Dining Services Serves International Fare

WMU Dining Services hosted the Mediterranean Coastal Dinner in all dining centers on Wednesday, February 22 to support Western Michigan University’s mission of global engagement. A memorable experience for students, the event stretched and showcased the culinary skills of the Dining Services’ team.

Although the dinner drew influence and flavor combinations from cuisines of the Mediterranean Coast, this year’s international dinner was not a rendition of the popularized “Mediterranean Diet,” rather it was more—more flavors, more palates, and more countries represented. The dining centers featured dishes from Algeria and Morocco on the northwestern coast of Africa, to Turkey and Syria on the southeastern edge of the Middle East.

The intent of the dinner was to create a space where authentic characteristics of countries all along the Mediterranean Sea could be explored and shared with students and the WMU community. The Mediterranean Coastal Dinner explored the wide variety of coastal cuisine through snapshot dishes and served over 3,000 students, WMU affiliates and community members.

Chef Tom Giles, manager of culinary operations for WMU Dining Services, chose each dish as a reminder of the diverse and flavorful palates from the Mediterranean region, that expand further than just the typical legumes and olive oil. These snapshots ranged from Dawood Basha— nutmeg spiced meatballs in a tomato sauce from Syria, to Algerian Couscous— a national dish of steamed semolina with vegetables and a hint of cinnamon. Additionally, seven other dishes with various qualities from these coastal countries were served.

Hosted annually, the international meal is one of the ways Dining Services works to incorporate the University mission of global engagement into their service and to encourage students to discover new cuisines and cultures. Judy Gipper, director of Dining Services, stated that “this special dinner highlights Dining Services’ commitment to taking care of our students and participating in the educational mission of Western Michigan University.”