Ding! Sirena Chen of Portland, Oregon, opens the microwave to be greeted by an overcooked, mushy mess of eggs. It was her first attempt since arriving at Medill to maintain her New Year’s resolution: cook at least once a week. Unfortunately, she forgot one essential ingredient, water.
“All the eggs fried into this sad little disk,” Chen said. “It was the worst steamed eggs I’ve ever seen.”
Though her commitment did not always produce tasty results, Chen said she will take the lessons from the cherub kitchen to heart.
“I learned to not make food in the microwave,” Sirena said. “I learned that if you want to cook, you should buy a pot. I also learned to not take my mom’s steamed eggs for granted.”
Chen is one of many cherubs who have made the most of the small kitchen on each floor of the dorm, which comes furnished with a stove, microwave and mini-fridge.
When Tillie Solomon of San Anselmo, California, returned from Target with boxed mac and cheese, she realized the cabinets lacked pots, plates and utensils.
Solomon didn’t give up. After buying a $25 pot from Target, she drew on her dormmates for supplies: a bowl and spoon from one friend, milk from another and a plate from yet another.
“There were a lot of pieces coming together for this mac and cheese,” Solomon said.
Solomon also said the kitchens are a practical, convenient alternative to Allison dining hall’s limited hours.
“Usually what happens is that it’s 8 p.m. and there’s nowhere for me to get food,” Solomon said. “So then I’m like, ‘Let’s make a PB&J, let’s get some mac and cheese up in here.’”
Solomon said she landed on PB&Js due to their convenience: “I was thinking, ‘What can I make that’s not super unhealthy, doesn’t use a lot of ingredients and won’t take up a lot of fridge space?’”
In addition to satisfying cherubs’ appetites, Pranya Duvvuru of Eagan, Minnesota, said the kitchen sustains her through late nights spent finishing assignments.
“It definitely helps me when I’m busy working on a story and I need to eat,” Duvvuru said. “It was super convenient being able to have that option.”
Cherubs also enjoy late-night meals with a side of fun. Tessa Johnson of Columbia, Missouri, said she and her friends eat sweet potatoes while watching TV almost every night.
“We all go to the kitchen together, play music, laugh and have fun,” Johnson said. “Even though it’s just a silly food like sweet potatoes, it’s been really fun to share them with my friends and have these moments.”
Johnson said dorm cooking is more than just a practical source of sustenance.
“Sweet potatoes are my absolute favorite food,” Johnson said. “It was kind of stupid, but it’s also really fun to make that connection.”
