A group of student food−lovers are collaborating with Tufts Dining Services to bring a teaching kitchen to campus. The kitchen, which will open in Curtis Hall as early as next September, will serve as a communal space for students, groups and classes to explore the culinary arts.
The project organizers, who have received support from the Board of Trustees, have already developed a preliminary blueprint for the space and are waiting to finalize plans before beginning to fundraise for the construction, according to Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos.
The kitchen is the brainchild of alumnus and former Trustee Representative to the Administration and Finance Committee in Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate AlixBoulud (LA '11). Boulud said that the idea for the project came to her after she and senior Manuel Guzman founded the Tufts Culinary Society in 2008 and saw the need on campus for such a space.
"People were really wanting to learn how to cook, but we weren't able to meet that need because there were no facilities on campus," she said. "Dorm kitchens have an oven and stove, but that is not enough to teach someone how to cook."
Boulud introduced the project in the TCU Senate last year before presenting it to the Board of Trustees, where she received a standing ovation, according to TCU's Trustee Representative to the Academic Affairs Committee Joshua Kapelman, a senior.
Dining Services became involved in the project about a year and a half ago, according to Klos.
"We needed a department or some part of the administration that can help long−term in the oversight of the space itself — occasionally there might need to be a repair, or equipment replaced," Klos said. "We thought there were a lot of opportunities in having Dining [Services] taking a lead role here."
Boulud said that the limited storage space in dorms for cooking tools and ingredients makes the shared cooking space for students a necessity.
"Are we expecting students to keep pots, pans, spatulas, in their dorm rooms? That is not very logical," Boulud said.
The planned kitchen will likely have appliances, utensils and basic cooking items for students' use, Klos said, though students can also use any of their own cooking implements in the kitchen.
According to the current plan, the kitchen will occupy the space currently used by the Media Advocacy Board Lab in Curtis Hall, Guzman said. The construction of the new space will take place in tandem with the general renovations of the hall.
The planned space is approximately 1,000 square feet, Kapelman said, though the sketches have yet to be finalized.
The next step for the project will be to obtain an estimate of the cost from a construction company so that fundraising can begin.
"We're right now in a holding pattern. We're putting together a list of everything we need. But really, we're waiting to know what it is going to cost so we can go out there [and fundraise]," Kapelman said.
He foresees a lot of interest in the project from prospective contributors and has already received a few donation pledges. Going forward, Kapelman and Guzman will look to corporations as well as individuals for donations.
Boulud said that in addition to its purely culinary application, the kitchen could be used for other academic purposes, including by physics, chemistry and nutrition classes or by courses through the Experimental College.
The Culinary Society could also use the kitchen for events and community service projects.
Boulud added that the Athletics Department has expressed interest in using the kitchen for a program for athletes on nutrition and cooking.
Kapelman said that the kitchen could also create an important connection between the faculty and students.
"Imagine your last class, your professor says let's do a cookout. Or if you're taking Japanese the professor could say, let's go to the kitchen and have a Japanese food class," Kapelman said. "These are all things that the kitchen would allow."
