Recipe Contest
The Studierendenwerk invited students to submit
meat-free dishes to the 2025/26 recipe
competition and thus actively help shape
the canteen menu.
Numerous student services organisations in Germany have already successfully held recipe competitions in recent years. Now, students in the Tübingen-Hohenheim university region also had the opportunity to contribute their ideas and actively help shape the canteen menu.
‘We want to actively incorporate the eating habits and wishes of our students into the cafeteria. With this competition, we are providing space for creativity and showing that sustainable, meat-free dishes can also be implemented perfectly in communal catering,’ explained Edith Hein, Managing Director of the Tübingen-Hohenheim Student Services Association.
Review
More than 100 students responded to our call and submitted their favourite meat-free dishes between November and December 2025. From the numerous entries, a jury comprising canteen managers selected eight recipes at the start of the year that were particularly well suited to being prepared in a commercial kitchen. All finalists were awarded a canteen voucher worth 75 euros.
At the start of the summer term, the competition entered its decisive phase: from 27 to 30 April 2026, the eight finalists took charge of the cooking themselves as part of a special promotional week (‘Canteen Takeover’). Together with the kitchen teams, they prepared their dishes and some even manned the serving counters.
The submitted recipes also reflected the cultural diversity of the student body: the culinary range of the entries spanned from North German-inspired classics and Hungarian influences to Chinese family recipes. Many participants brought personal stories, family traditions and international taste experiences to the competition.
The dishes were sampled and rated by guests on site. Based on this feedback, the four winning dishes that were most popular with the guests have now been decided:
1st place: Peanut and sweet potato hotpot (Luis Schuster, University of Hohenheim)
2nd place: Knipp – a vegan version of a North German grützwurst (Emma Feller, University of Tübingen)
3rd place: Chinese stew made to a family recipe (Dongye Chen, University of Tübingen)
2nd place: Peanut Udon Noodles (Maria Windmöller, University of Hohenheim)
Edith Hein, Managing Director of the Student Services Organisation, was also present during the event days. She congratulated the finalists in person and discussed with them how their dishes came about:
“I was delighted by the many creative entries and the students’ great enthusiasm. My thanks go to all the participants and to our canteen teams, who supported the budding chefs on site. The recipe competition shows just how many good ideas there are within the student community – and how these can enrich our refectories.”