Students at Harden Residential Restaurant munched on bratwurst, sauerkraut and German potato salad as part of Aramark's Passport to Culture series on Thursday.
Executive chef Mirek Lysakowski, who learned to cook the German cuisine when he lived in Hamburg, prepared the meal and did a cooking demonstration.
Lysakowski, who grew up in Poland, is starting his fourth year working for Aramark at Elon. The highlight so far, he says, was when he was able to meet Lech Walesa during his Oct. 2001 visit to campus.
“Wow! I had to come to America to meet my president,” he recalls thinking. “It’s very nice to be here.”
Barbara Rhoades, coordinator of this week’s Global Village on campus, says that the food prepared by Lysakowski was just half of the experience. She wanted to bring the chef’s journeys to life while students experienced another culture through food.
“For the people here on Elon’s campus who are not in the (Winter Term) international studies program, we wanted to bring the world to them.”
Rhoades, adjunct assistant professor of fine arts, hopes that Global Village programs such as this will increase cultural understanding on campus. “As we make global actions as leaders, we need to think about the impact on global citizens,” she says.