Episode #7
A Taste of Home: When Family Recipes Find a New Home on Campus
Season 4, Episode 7 What if a family recipe could make a college student feel a little more at home? In this episode, I’m taking you inside the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse’s Recipes From Home program, which began in 2009 and gives first-year students—including international students—the opportunity to share meaningful family recipes. The UW–La Crosse dining team then turns those recipes into meals served in the Whitney Center Main Dining Room, sometimes feeding 1,200 to 1,500 students. In this episode, I’m joined by members of the team who make the program happen: Lizzy Haywood, Associate Director for Business & Dining Operations Jessica Harke, Registered Dietician Christy Ihrke, Marketing Director for Dining Services Robbie Hanson, Chef Michael Raymond, Chef We talk about where the recipes come from, what happens when a home recipe enters a professional food-service kitchen, how the chefs scale recipes for a crowd, and some of the student favorites—including Street Corn Chicken and Rice Bowls and Homemade Chicken Nuggets. I also talk with Keira Burton , a psychology major from Northbrook, Illinois, whose family’s gluten-free Chicken Alfredo Bake was selected for the program. Keira shared what it meant to see a family recipe served on campus—and why that connection between home and college can be so meaningful. I’m sharing three student recipes from the Recipes From Home program: Gluten-Free Chicken Alfredo Bake Keira Burton — Northbrook, Illinois Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles) Zhe Yi Ng — Malaysia Tres Leches Cake Caden DeGlopper — Mukwonago, Wisconsin Find all three recipes on the companion post at RandomSweets.com . I want to thank my friend and previous Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens guest Shannon Thomasser , who first told me about Recipes From Home. Her son attended UW–La Crosse, and his family’s soup recipe was served in the dining hall. That little story stayed with me—and eventually led to this episode. Because sometimes one person shares a recipe, and it leads to an entirely new story. Thanks for listening to Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens ! University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Website: https://www.uwlax.edu Dining Services Website: https://dineoncampus.com/UWLACROSSE Host and Producer, Staci Mergenthal RandomSweets.com Website randomsweets.com Instagram @potatoesandmittens Instagram @randomsweets Facebook: Funeral Potatoes & Wool Mittens Facebook Random Sweets Pinterest @staciperry Email: staci@randomsweets.com
