International students cook up suggestions for U.S. dining halls

Monday, July 13, 1998

International students cook up suggestions for U.S. dining
halls

CAFETERIA: Bruins from foreign nations lament discrepancy in
cuisine

By Connie Hunter

Daily Bruin Contributor

Food is always a key topic of conversation among students, and
this summer, it’s all the international students living in Rieber
Hall are talking about.

Over cappuccino and Texas chili, they were eager to discuss the
differences between American and international cuisine.

Tania Tilli, a psychology student, said she never had a turkey
sandwich in her small Austrian hometown like the one she had here
.

"There is more selection of healthy food here at UCLA and great
turkey to make sandwiches," she said as she bit into her food.

Students from the Netherlands felt that a lot of the American
food they have run into as high in fat and cholesterol, the milk
poor and the coffee too weak.

Willem Vanderscheer, an economics student, was concerned about
the amount of cholesterol in the food.

"Here, there is a lot of fat in the food such as the pizza
slices, french fries and hamburgers," he noted.

Paul Hehenkamp, a fellow economics student from the Netherlands,
explained the dining habits of his countrymen.

"In Holland, for lunch, we really eat just bread, cheese and an
apple, plus a large glass of whole milk from Dutch cows. "

Hehenkamp noted that Dutch cows "are prettier, and their milk
tastes less like chemicals,"

Michael Jongsma felt that the use of condiments was rather
odd.

"I like mayonnaise on my french fries instead of ketchup. Calf
mayonnaise is the best in the world, but here everyone always uses
ketchup on everything," he said.

Martin Scholten, also from the Netherlands, agreed and added
that "the coffee here (in the United States) is too weak."

"It is only water with color. Even the espresso here is much too
weak," he said.

Scholten said he wished he could have a cup of his favorite
brand of coffee, Douwe Egberts, instead.

It wasn’t only the Dutch who feel this way about the coffee.

Boris Maciejovsky, from Vienna, had firm opinions about his
coffee preferences.

"The Viennese coffee is much stronger and tastes better with
real cream."

Nick Lampen, a political science student from London, England,
liked the fast food-style food the best.

"Curly fries are my favorite with a chicken burger, and more the
curly fries than the burger."

Lampen shook his head and frowned at the thought of the foods he
dislikes.

"The pasta is my least favorite because it needs to be ‘al
dente’ with more salt and better spices," he said.

Other students expressed their displeasure with the dining hall
food.

Jessica Green, who has a bachelor’s degree in acting and is a
third-year political science student from the University of
California at Santa Barbara, preferred the food at UCSB.

"The food is 100 percent better there. The meat is better, and
the ribs are tastier and not bland like they are here."

Green had some suggestions for improvement.

"They could add more suitable spices like basil, cilantro and
oregano, instead of chili pepper," she said.

Patrick Mozart, an international marketing student from
Mannheim, Germany, who came here to study intensive English,
praised the presentation of the food.

"Not bad for so many people every day. I like the way it is
presented," Mozart said.

Several French students had specific suggestions about how to
improve the dining experience, including how to make certain meals
better.

"The sauces are not so good," said Mikael Gueye, an economy and
business communications student.

"They need good olive oil, mustard, wine, vinegar and herbs," he
continued.

Esther Plustache, a marketing and finance student from Bordeaux,
France, also had a few suggestions.

"They could make (better) chicken by putting the garlic, a small
amount of olive oil, red and green peppers, potatoes and tomatoes
with a small touch of white wine into the chicken," she said.

Vanessa Roux, who is also from Bordeaux, mentioned one thing
missing from the meals.

"It would be nice to have television with news while we eat,"
she said.

However, Plustache strongly disagreed.

"No. No television. No TV because when you eat, it is an
occasion to discuss with someone while you eat. It is better to
stop the TV and better for communication to have less noise,"
Plustache said.

Roux had the last say, though.

"The news is important," she said.