"We do the same menu cycle over and over," said Longstratt. She relished the chance to do something different and "show them what kind of skills I have."
The program seems to be popular with diners, too. Solomonov's menu attracted 730 customers, 44 percent above the average dinner count for October, according to Penn Dining.
Senior Dave Matz, 22, was with a group of mainly upperclassmen who said they came to the dining hall specifically for the event. They normally eat off-campus.
Matz said he had never heard of Marigold Kitchen but would be willing to eat there now. The rib meat was "very good," said Matz, who wanted seconds until seeing the huge crowd waiting to be served.
"Look at this line. This is killing me," he said. "I should have gotten five of them."
Freshman Kelcie Pinick, 19, also enjoyed the gourmet treat.
"This tasted like something my mom makes," Pinick said.
Last month, Matthew Babbage, executive chef at World Cafe Live, treated Penn students to an Asian noodle salad with seared tuna. He said students' palates are much more sophisticated than when he worked in college cafeterias as a culinary student.
"The only tuna I would have served then would have been tuna salad sandwiches," said Babbage. "They never would have eaten anything like this."
On the Net:
Penn Dining: http://www.business-services.upenn.edu/dining/
Marigold Kitchen: http://www.marigoldkitchenbyob.com/
World Cafe Live: http://www.worldcafelive.com/menus.html
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