More meatless meals at Southwest Michigan colleges, thanks to vegetarian students and staff

October 14, 2008

Posted by William R. Wood | Kalamazoo Gazette October 13, 2008 14:32PM

Categories: Food, Top Extra

Jill McLane Baker | Kalamazoo GazetteJacob Asberger, seen here putting pieces of polenta in a tilt skillet to cook, is the new vegetarian chef at Kalamazoo College. Asberger makes a one vegetarian and one vegan dish for lunch and dinner.

KALAMAZOO -- The hot dogs looked irresistible piled beside trays of chili and cheese sauce.

Then came the vegetarian choices: warm, glistening slices of summer squash that had been stir-fried in a nearby wok that was still hot on a stove; a pan of polenta squares smothered in a mushroom ragout.

Lunch options have changed at Kalamazoo College as vegetarians and vegans now carry more influence. (Vegetarians don't eat meat, although some eat fish; vegans don't eat any animal products at all, including milk, cheese and eggs.)

"Before, there was just iceberg lettuce, which is really bad. Then spinach started showing up and I found out that was coming from local farms," said sophomore Steven Croop, 18, of San Francisco, during lunch Tuesday in Kalamazoo College's dining hall.

"They also have vegan options," said Croop's friend Kari Larson, a 19-year-old sophomore from Ann Arbor. "They have that new vegan chef. It used to be just old vegetables and rice here, and now it's cooked, real food."

The new fare includes the Thai classic Pad Thai as well as roasted vegetable wraps and hummus in 20 different flavors.

Jill McLane Baker | Kalamazoo GazetteGrilled polenta with mushroom ragout is one of the vegetarian dishes chef Jacob Asberger prepares at Kalamazoo College.

The chef is Jacob Asperger, a line cook who was turned into a chef responsible for preparing vegetarian and vegan cuisine at Kalamazoo College. He's the first vegetarian chef for the private college.

This fall, with 10 months of experience cooking vegetarian fare and the aid of the fall harvest, Asperger has pumped life and energy into the college's cafeteria, which serves an extensive spread of foods for 500 to 600 students for lunch and dinner daily.

The added vegetarian offerings at K-College are part of a trend among colleges and universities in the region. Dining-hall directors have discovered that even nonvegetarian students, who are in the majority, will select vegetarian dishes when they want healthy choices.

At Western Michigan University, a study showed 50 percent of students will select a vegetarian entree if it appeals to them. The dining service has responded with veggie focaccia grinders and portabella mushrooms in pretzel rolls, said dining service director Judy Gipper.

Students at Ferris State University, in Big Rapids, are partial to vegetarian soups, according to one of the dining service managers there.

A student committee of vegetarians and vegans at Albion College provides suggestions and feedback about dishes to dining-hall officials once a month. The vegetarian product company Ope's of Kalamazoo, known for veggie burgers and organic cookies, plans to offer a food tasting at Albion Nov. 12.

"Years ago, the word 'vegan' was only a test question for chefs in school. Now vegans are an important part of our business," said Paul Carter, executive chef at Kalamazoo College.

On Tuesday at K-College, chef Asperger made Mujaddaraj, a Lebanese dish with lentils and rice topped with caramelized onions. It was served at the vegan section of the cafeteria, beside the pizza station.

Vegetarian Putanesca sauce, which Asperger had made the day before with tomatoes, capers and olives for a pasta dish, was also used as a sauce for cheese pizzas.

It was repeated suggestions and complaints from students about a need for more vegetarian and vegan fare that prompted Carter to offer more vegetarian dishes and to eventually make a chef responsible for them, he said.

"The vegan population used to be about 5 to 7 percent," Carter said. "As the years went on, the population grew to amazing proportions. They were asking for more vegan and vegetarian things. Then I interviewed students personally to get more suggestions.

"We began preparing the foods, but it wasn't being carried out well. The lunch cook I had preparing them did not have enough time to make the dishes properly. We had to make sure these dishes were going to be done correctly. I had to create extra hours for him (Asperger) and cut back in other places," Carter said.

It has made a difference that Asperger is a vegetarian. In doing his own shopping, it is second nature for him to examine labels to make sure the food he buys does not contain meat products. He does the same with verve in the college cafeteria kitchen.

The kitchen's Caesar dressing, Worcestershire sauce and Caribbean jerk marinade all contain anchovies, he said. The fajita and gravy mixes contain dehydrated beef fat, he said. Lots of pita bread contains animal products, he said. When cooking meals, he tries to substitute ingredients for such products.

"I'm a stickler, man," Asperger said. "I'm always eyeballing ingredients. Animal products have a chokehold on the world, man," he said jokingly.

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Contact William R. Wood at bwood or 388-8549.

Tags: Albion College, cafeteria, college, food, Kalamazoo College, vegetarian, Western Michigan University

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