Students learn how to transform pantry ingredients into meals through cooking demo

Students at Middle Georgia State University in Macon, Ga., learned how to turn ingredients from the campus pantry into meals during a cooking demonstration held by the Aladdin Campus Dining team. 

Chef Carlos Burke taught students how create a variety of recipes using a rotisserie chicken and a handful of pantry staples. 

“There are so many recipe applications and multiple meals students can create from the rotisserie chicken including chipotle bowls combined with rice, black beans, corn, diced tomato and guacamole; as well as chicken alfredo combined with broccoli, pasta, and alfredo sauce,” said chef Burke in a statement. 

Burke showed students how to remove the meat from the chickens and prepared the recipes step-by-step. He also discussed how to repurpose leftovers into new meals with Aladdin Campus Dining District Marketing Manager Erica Jackson. 

At the end of the demo, students were provided with recipe cards to take home and also got to sample the dishes. 

Students got to sample some of the dishes prepared during the demo. 

“The goal of our demonstration was to teach students how to prepare easy and inexpensive meals in a microwave utilizing nutrient-dense food items such as beans, pasta and rice from the school’s pantry,” said Jackson in a statement.  “We want to make sure that every student has access to high-quality food while providing the right foods for each student’s dietary needs.”

Food insecurity on college campuses continues to be a growing problem. A recent study showed that a majority of college students who receive financial aid in California are food insecure. Dining teams have responded to the issue through a variety initiatives aimed at keeping students fed. The University of Pittsburgh, for example, recently began providing free meals to students using food lockers installed around campus.