When our stomachs rumble, we need to look no further than the GESS Canteen for an extensive range of food offerings! We are completely spoilt for choice here and for many of us, the daily change of menus and discovering what is on offer is a very exciting part of our days.
With the canteen being so important to school life, the Student Council wanted to make things even better for their peers, especially the ones who have been struggling a little with different spice levels.
To establish consistency in spiciness standards and labelling of spicy and non-spicy dishes, Student Council President, Otis Hoelscher, started a collaboration with the canteen to do a spice test.
A group of students came together to taste and sample a list of approximately 10 different dishes cooked by the canteen. The students then rated the spiciness of the dishes on a simple scale of 1 to 3 to indicate how spicy they found it to be. The goal was to achieve a common consensus, as much as possible, on what dishes would qualify as too spicy for students and how they should be labelled.
I felt this project was necessary for us to pass on feedback from students to the canteen in a constructive and actionable way because of the students’ desire for change. A structured feedback session of sorts seemed to be the best approach. I talked to the Student Council to find willing participants and find out when everyone was available. Miss Meike Angelicia, the Operations Manager, organised the event with the canteen. Then, we all gathered and held the Spice Test.
Otis Hoelscher-Garg, Student Council President, Grade 9 Student
I’m very grateful for the opportunity to give Feedback and exchange ideas with the canteen to improve everyone’s meal experience. I enjoyed the large selection of foods.
Saskia Rocksien, Grade 9 Student
The event itself turned out to be very successful with 6 students coming together to taste the dishes and providing very useful feedback to the canteen.
This entire Project would not have been possible without the canteen. They organised and funded the project. It was great to see them willing to take on ideas and feedback – not just spice related. We had a great time and I hope our input helped.
Otis Hoelscher-Garg, Student Council President, Grade 9 Student
Overall, it is a delight to see the students display a sense of ownership over their school life and take charge of coming up with creative solutions to challenges. We look forward to seeing the next steps in action from this project!
