A bowl against the cold — Exploring winter meals on campus
“We pretty much try to go with more stews, heartier soups, and pasta dishes,” says Leroy Whisker, executive chef at UTSC, in an interview with The Underground.
Winter has a way of sharpening everything. The air feels heavier, the pace of the semester quickens, and the walk from one building to another can feel longer than it is. (Illustration By: Akshita Rajpal // The Underground).
Winter at home felt different. As I am seven seas away, I remember the winter with a bowl of sweet daliya, a simple Indian porridge, warm enough to fog the space between my hands and my face. My mom would make it on mornings when the cold pressed against the windows and the house felt slower somehow, as if the sun had not fully decided to rise. It was never a remarkable dish to most, lightly sweet and almost plain, but it carried a steadiness that stayed with me long after breakfast.
Winter on campus feels different. It arrives in gusts between buildings, in the sting of air on your face walking from Highland Hall to the library, in frozen fingertips digging through your bag for a TCard.
Days stretch longer than they should, and somewhere between lectures and deadlines, you start to notice the places that offer a pause, not an escape, but something that helps you keep going. Food becomes part of that rhythm.
Seasonal cravings
Behind the counters, winter reshapes what shows up on plates.
In an interview with The Underground, Leroy Whisker, executive chef at UTSC, explains that colder months naturally shift menus toward heavier dishes.
“We pretty much try to go with more stews, heartier soups, and pasta dishes,” says Whisker. Meals designed to feel grounding after a long walk through the cold.
Todd Wadsworth, food operations manager for Food Partnerships, told The Underground that he often sees students looking for options that are filling and easy to grab between the countless commitments.
“In the winter, students are really on the lookout for warmth, convenience and something that keeps them going,” says Wadsworth.
It is the kind of observation that makes you realize how shared the experience is. Everyone moves through the same weather, searching for small ways to stay steady.
‘Food is meant to be an experience’, says UTSC faculty
Over time, you start building your own winter map. In the lower level of Highland Hall, the hot pot stands out. Bowls layered with rich broth seem to thaw you from the inside out.
Wadsworth said the hot pots are “in-house authentic stocks packed with flavour,” and on especially cold days with the wind chill hitting -30 C, the steam rising from the table feels like an invitation to slow down.
At the Harmony Commons Dining Hall, winter shows up in bowls of pho, fresh pasta tossed to order, and soups that rotate through the week. It is a place where conversations stretch a little longer and where you can sit without watching the clock too closely.
For something quick, Tim Hortons becomes a familiar checkpoint. Third-year biology student Farah Mohammad says she often reaches for “the chili… or a black coffee or cappuccino,” simple choices that carry her through long hours on campus.
When Mohammad wants something more filling, she turns to a power bowl or chicken dish from 1265 Bistro, something steady enough to last the afternoon.
Once you start paying attention, you notice the thought behind everyday meals. (Illustration By: Akshita Rajpal // The Underground).
The Marketplace offers its own rhythm. Stir fry sizzles behind the counter, tacos are assembled quickly, and warm plates from spots like Osmow’s or Bao Mama seem to draw endless lines. The variety feels reassuring, a reminder that even on the busiest days there is somewhere to stop.
My own routine shifts depending on the week. Some afternoons call for a pistachio latte from Starbucks, sometimes with protein milk, a small ritual between classes. Other days it is a loaded chicken bowl from Tim Hortons, eaten slowly while watching people move past the windows. When time feels especially tight, the new vending machines stocked with cup noodles offer a practical solution. Add hot water, and the day feels slightly more manageable.
“Food on campus is meant to be an experience… we want people to remember it,” Wadsworth says.
Once you start paying attention, you notice the thought behind everyday meals. Menus shaped by feedback, ingredients prepared with care, staff moving steadily through busy shifts to keep everything running. What feels routine is often the result of effort that most of us might never fully see.
Carrying the warmth forward
Winter has a way of sharpening everything. The air feels heavier, the pace of the semester quickens, and the walk from one building to another can feel longer than it is.
Still, some moments stay with you. The heat of a bowl in your hands. The familiar smell of soup. The simple relief of sitting down.
Maybe that is what we are really looking for. Not just something to eat, but something that steadies us, something that makes the season feel less sharp at the edges. A bowl that buys you time. A drink that warms your hands long enough to breathe again. A meal that carries you through the next stretch of the day.
I still do not know if Daliya felt warm because of what it was or because of how much care my mom stirred into it before it reached me. On campus, that care takes a different shape. It lives in the staff who keep pots simmering when the weather turns, who prepare meals that students rely on when the cold settles in, who make sure something is waiting at the end of a long walk across campus.
In winter, warmth becomes the result of people showing up each day to make campus a little more livable. And sometimes, in the steam rising from a simple meal, I can recognize that effort and feel, if only for a moment, the same sense of being looked after.
