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Aug 06, 2023

Dorm cooking: What to keep in mind when braving the communal kitchen

Staff Writer Dorm kitchens offer students a space to let out their inner chef. For the first-year college student, the dining hall — an underclassmen oasis most comparable to the wild animals’ desert

Staff Writer

Dorm kitchens offer students a space to let out their inner chef.

For the first-year college student, the dining hall — an underclassmen oasis most comparable to the wild animals’ desert watering hole — is a thing of wonder.

But as the first months of school pass and reality begins to set in, the rose-colored glasses come off and quickly those dining hall cookies lose their allure. You miss your mother’s cooking and your diet consists solely of pizza and Pibb Xtra, a substance you had never heard of before coming to college.

As your own person­ — you are in college now, after all — you decide to take matters into your own hands. It is time to roll up your sleeves and put on your apron.

While lacking in the comfort and cleanliness a personal kitchen may provide, communal kitchens offer dorm-dwellers the chance to both meet potential best friends and try their hand at playing chef. On days when the thought of one more pizza slice is simply too much to handle or the hoards of students lining up throughout the dining hall seem particularly overwhelming, a communal kitchen serves as a respite from the chaos that is the college dining experience.

Now that the dorm chef has a kitchen, cooking can commence. However, there are levels to the college chef. There is the amateur chef, whose daily menu may consist of top ramen, the classic microwavable meals and toaster waffles. The amateur chef most likely has one bowl and not a kitchen utensil to their name.

After the amateur chef develops more skills, they become what one might consider to be a basic chef. This budding chef usually starts their day with avocado toast and an egg, including in their daily cuisine a diet of cheese quesadillas and simple red sauce pasta, along with the occasional box-mix brownies. While more adventurous in their daily cuisine than the amateur chef, this college student wants no risks in the communal kitchen.

While the majority of college students fall into the category of basic chef, there are the adventurous students who one might refer to as master chefs. These master chefs do not mind spending extra time in the kitchen, whether it is baking bread from scratch or preparing a meal where a sharp knife and cutting board are used.

Whether you consider yourself an amateur chef or a true master of cooking, every college chef must have the basic utensils and appliances to aid them in their craft, regardless of skill level. Objects such as a small frying pan, spatula, cutting board, Bullet Blender, microwave-safe containers for reheating food and a kettle for boiling water are all essentials any new chef may want to invest in as they prepare for dorm room living.

While the utensils and appliances needed for the college student attempting to avoid the dining hall may seem basic, when it comes to dorm cuisine the same does not have to be true.

Small details, such as using a variety of cheap seasonings, spices and dressings can drastically alter and improve an otherwise bland meal. Buying in bulk should also not be overlooked as a college student. Time is valuable, and the fewer trips one can make to the grocery store during the busy school season, the better.

As a college student adapting to their new environment, focus on what you have rather than what you do not. For those looking to meal prep, buying items such as pre-cut vegetables, microwavable rice and freezable foods can save you time, as well as ensure that food is being used — the easier the food is to make, the more likely you are to make it.

On the days when the dining hall does not cut it and you must finally venture into the communal kitchen, remember that we all have a little chef in us­ — even if it is an amateur one only capable of boiling water and burning toast.

Harper Hamilton is a staff writer.

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