The Oaks is a dining hall – a dining hall on a college campus.
That means there’s some learning thrown in with the eating.
"It’s always moving and growing and doing something new," said chef Marissa Riffle, who along
with four other chefs plans the meals for Bowling Green State University dining halls. "It’s also
about teaching."
A new teaching moment has opened in the hall. Shoots is a vegan part of the Oaks, offering meat, egg and
dairy-free food.
One of the meals – a calzone and raw vegetables with a curry sauce topped off with a pound cake nestled
among vibrant fruits – looks so luscious that it seems airbrushed.
That, Riffle said, is the key to getting students to try something new.
"It’s going to speak for itself," she said. "That’s the great thing about being a chef in
all these locations. You get them with the eye appeal and get them to taste it."
Riffle is especially thrilled with the raw vegetables, which are spun into pasta-looking spirals. She
plans to offer different sauces to drizzle over them.
"That’s just a beautiful dish," she said. "The raw vegetables and the way it looks like
pasta, it speaks to clean and fresh."
The meals are served on green dishes with green cutlery, which signifies vegan. There’s also a vegan
refrigerator in the Shoots pod, stocked with Silk milk, apples and cheese.
"Anyone following that diet or lifestyle can be confident it’s not going to have contact with other
proteins," Riffle said.
Sara Meyer, director of marketing and communications, said Shoots was an offshoot of discussions with
students who asked for a regular vegan option in the dining halls. The Humane Society of the United
States awarded the university a certificate of appreciation for opening Shoots.
"Kids are looking for a home-cooked meal. Even more so now, they want to know what’s put in their
foods," Meyer said.
Riffle and the other chefs are used to dealing with a variety of specialized menus, such as offering
recipes for students with allergies.
"Our job is to take care of them. We don’t want them to feel they don’t have a meal."
All of the BGSU chefs, including Tom Lambert, Jeremy Skiles, Matt Leeland and Jared Dryer, have
collaborated on the Shoots menu. A vegan lunch and dinner, with a protein, two side dishes, soup and
dessert, will be served every day, Monday through Thursday. There will be a lunch on Fridays, but no
dinner.
"I really feel that the food will sell itself," Riffle said. "Our job is to say, ‘how
about we try it?’"
The Oaks Dining Hall has been open for four years. It offers "all you care to eat" dining, with
dozens of options. There is the usual fare, such as pizza, chicken fingers and ice cream, plus some
variety, like Thai, German and Spanish.
"I think this will blend really well, right into it," Riffle said of Shoots.
Riffle has been working on campus for 11 years, five with Chartwells, which is the university’s dining
service provider. She grew up in Lindsey, Ohio, but spent about a dozen years away, getting her degree
from Johnson and Wales University and working in Atlanta.
She returned to the area to raise three children with her husband.
One of her favorite dinners to prepare for her family is a platter of couscous layered with chickpeas,
tomatoes and other vegetables and grilled chicken.
"I do go home and cook. For my husband and I, it’s very important that our girls have that family
table time," Riffle said. "I think that’s such an important thing for a family, to talk about
your day and what’s going on.
"And that’s what we want for our students, too," she said. "They need to walk in here and
feel this is their home away from home."
Chorizo Tempeh Calzone
Yield: 2 Calzones
Chorizo Tempeh
2 packs of tempeh
½ can chipotle with adobo sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
½ tablespoon coriander
To taste salt and pepper
Blend chipotle, vinegar and spices together and fold into Tempeh crumbles. Let marinate for 1-2 hours.

Pizza Dough
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ envelope yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon granulated garlic
¾ to 1 cup room temperature water
Add all ingredients into mixer and mix on low with dough hook for 4-5 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Divide dough into equal parts.
Split the Chorizo Tempeh in half and lay in the center of the dough. Fold dough and crimp the edges. Bake
on 375º F for 10-12 minutes.
Sundried Tomato Sauce
1 cup sundried tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
¼ cup bell pepper
2 ½ cups hot water
To taste siracha sauce
To taste salt and pepper
Blend sundried tomatoes, garlic cloves and bell peppers in a food processor for 30 to 60 seconds.
Slowly add in water as blender is running. When finished, add in siracha sauce, salt and pepper.
Adjust water if needed for consistency preference.
This sauce can go on top of pasta or even a ribboned vegetable pasta/salad using yellow squash or any
other type of vegetable that has a shape to become long strips.
To make a ribbon vegetable pasta/salad, trim the ends and peel the vegetable if needed.
Peel the vegetable lengthwise, using a little pressure to make 1/16 inch thick ribbons (thin enough to
fold nicely but thick enough not to break).
You can then blanch them or leave them raw.