Dining program gets students cooking with new teaching kitchen

Rutgers University at Camden in Camden, N.J., has opened a teaching kitchen inside its Raptor Dining Hall.

The teaching kitchen celebrated its grand opening earlier this month and allows students to take cooking classes led by campus and community chefs. Students can also use the space when classes are not in session to cook their own meals.

The space includes everything diners need to create their own smoothies, omelets, waffles, stir fry, pasta and more. Students can use their own recipes or can find recipes to try online at the teaching kitchen’s website.

Teaching kitchens are being used by many college dining programs to engage students. During COVID-19, Northwestern University offered virtual teaching kitchen classes to instruct students on how to prepare cheap, healthy meals and Princeton University has been using campus teaching kitchens for years as a way to educate students about healthy eating, sustainability and more.