Contrary to the stereotype, I have found that the vastness of cuisine options for a college student with dorm kitchen access and friends who are passionate about baking and cooking can be endless. At Swarthmore, all dorm buildings are equipped with a full kitchen, table, fridge, microwave, stove, and oven that students can access whenever they please (DK has a partial kitchen with everything besides an oven; all the other dorms have a full kitchen). These spaces, for me, have been the site of some of my favorite college memories: mixing ingredients, laughing, trying new recipes, and indulging in homemade, tasty cuisine alongside some of the most incredible people.
An important preference here is that I did not think that I could cook at ALL before coming to college. Yes, perhaps this contradicted a certain famous quote from the 2007 Ratatouille movie, but it was nonetheless my mindset. When I first arrived at Swarthmore, I confined myself to only making small, simple bites. My friends and I made chocolate chip cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries on nearly a weekly basis. Every Wednesday, after my 1:15-4:00 PM seminar on Antisemitism: Theories and Politics, I went, like clockwork, towards the Willets Hall. This building, while not my personal freshman hall of residence, was THE freshman dorm–housing about a third of the freshman class. There, I could always find my friends in the lounge doing homework or making crafts. Together, we trekked to the main kitchen, laid pans with foil, mixed dough by hand, washed strawberries, and melted chocolate. Eventually, after about an hour, we set both sweets to cool in the fridge. I recall being constantly smitten by this process, thinking, “This is exactly the sort of college experience that I had hoped for!”
Freshman year dining hall creations, including gingerbread houses, ants-on-a-log, chocolate-covered strawberries, cookies, cake, and pasta.
The summer brought about a recovery from my supposed inability to traverse the kitchen outside of a baker’s capacity. I worked as an intern for the Swarthmore Admissions Department, meaning I stayed on-campus from the conclusion of my freshman spring semester into the warmer months of the year. The dining hall and Essie Maes, as well as the various dining options around campus and in Philadelphia, provided a number of my weekly meals (see my blog, “Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Beets” for more information), but the rest of my meals were concocted in the Mertz Hall 3rd Floor Kitchen. I bought pots and pans at the beginning of the summer and used my job’s meal stipend to buy ingredients from the Co-op, a small community food market in the town of Swarthmore. I asked some of my workout buddies (who would go to the on-campus gym, the Matchbox, with me) about meal prepping, and did my best to plan balanced, tasty dinners. My friends who were also working on-campus during the summer taught me a myriad of different recipes: sauces for pastas, sushi, burgers, and various other dishes. We took over the lounge table with ingredients, and I cut, boiled, and created (in my opinion) quite delicious meals. Then, when the cooking was done, we got to enjoy the scrumptious food in each other’s company. Perhaps this was a ploy on my behalf to get away with having other people do the post-meal dishes, but I would still consider it a win-win for everyone involved ;).
Typical co-op grocery order. Pictured: tomatoes, basil, mozzarella balls, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil (for making caprese), cake mix and vanilla extract, eggs, and a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel from the deli.
Once my sophomore year began, I became more comfortable putting dishes together and navigating the kitchen. I reverted to my baking habits, yes, but was consequently able to expand my recipe possibilities. My friends and I made an incredible strawberry shortcake from scratch during a February snowstorm (after meeting at my friend’s dorm for pasta night), and I still think about how tasty it came out to this day. I have found myself doing more large dinners with friends: watching movies and enjoying homemade food together. It has been a joy thus far, and it truly brings variety and a sense of community into the dorms’ living spaces. In the three dorms I have lived in and the seven dorm kitchens I have had the pleasure of cooking in, I have found myself serving, concurrently, as a baker, student, and chef: always creating, always learning, and always having fun.
Various desserts, pastas, focaccias (made by my friend), and treats from the 2025-2026 school year, including the aforementioned strawberry shortcake :))
