University of Illinois dining halls to feature dishes, activities for vegetarians

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The student-initiative Sustainability Chopped Competition is being held Wednesday night in Field of Greens at Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls during dinner hours. The “secret ingredient” will be based on a vegan and vegetarian diet. All four groups of competitors received a pantry list on Tuesday and will get a mystery basket at the beginning of the competition, according to Executive Chef Carrie Anderson.

October is a special month designated to vegetarians nationwide. In light of that, all six dining halls are preparing new dishes and activities for vegetarian students on campus throughout the entire month.

LAR, arguably the most vegetarian-friendly unit on campus, is hosting the Chef’s Table event on Oct. 15. Usually, the Chef’s Table is focused around local and seasonal ingredients and is an event that allows students an exclusive opportunity to watch chefs prepare a meal before them in a more formal dining experience. Students can text “TXTCHEF” and their name to 55744 between now and Friday to win a seat at the Chef’s Table. However, this month students can expect chefs to highlight vegetarian-only ingredients in honor of National Vegetarian Awareness Month.

Among classes, meet-ups, and study sessions, it can be hard for vegetarians to prepare three meals a day that do not consist of mostly instant pasta and crunchy peanut butter. Ethel Liao, senior in Business, said what she misses most about eating in the dining halls is the variety of vegetarian food she can’t get at home.

Liao became a vegetarian during her freshman year at Busey-Evans. She’s always had a strong interest in the environment, but what really pushed her to eat meat-free are the dining halls’ vegetarian food labels. Every entree at each dining hall labels their food if it’s vegetarian, vegan or local. That way, it’s easier for students to load