On what must be a slow news day, the AP covers the trend of college dining halls serving meals based on parents’ recipes:

At Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., barbecued salmon and Thai eggplant dishes had their start in students’ homes, as did the Ukrainian apple nut squares and whole-wheat cheddar buns.

Every semester or so for the last few years, Dining Services has been soliciting recipes from students - the best ones are selected for a special “recipes from home” meal, and some of the items (presumably) stay on in the regular menu cycle.

The idea sounds great in principle, but past experience of these meals has been underwhelming. I suspect that a lot gets lost in translation - while I’m sure the recipes are great in their original context, Dining Services usually only manages to serve up a not-very-appetizing facsimile.