PHILADELPHIA
In the dormitory dining hall, opposite the Jell-O cups and the pizza station, a gourmet meal awaited: Fenugreek-braised beef short ribs served on a schmear of apple-celery root puree, topped by shrimp poached in olive oil and garlic.
Call it Gastronomy 101. For one night a month, the “Guest Chef” program at the University of Pennsylvania turns a college cafeteria into a culinary destination.
“I think students definitely appreciate the more gourmet food,” said freshman Laura Jean Kemp, 18, noting she normally eats chili and fruit but was savoring the sample of fine cuisine.
The menu at Hill College House cafeteria for one night last week was devised by Michael Solomonov, executive chef at Marigold Kitchen and the recipient of Philadelphia Magazine’s best new chef award last year.
His appearance was part of a program Penn began in the spring to treat students to something different, allow local chefs to show off their talent, and give dining staff a chance to learn new techniques, said Marie Witt, Penn’s vice president of business services.
Chefs are not compensated but the university pays for the ingredients. Campus executive chef Tia McDonald, who worked with Solomonov to transfer the tastes from his relatively small BYO restaurant to an industrial-size cafeteria, said she valued the opportunity to “try and remove the stigma of cafeteria food.”
