"I think that they could say where the recipes come from," says Ariana Silverman '99 of Kirkland House. "I told at least 15 people what the difference between baba ganoush and hummous was at the last [Saharan Nights] dinner," she says.

Simpson suggests that the staff, too, might have played more of an instructive role yesterday, emphasizing the large percentage of dining hall staff who are Caribbean.

Miller says the rub on yesterday's ribs came from the mental cookbook of Adams House Chef Winston Maynard, himself Caribbean.

According to Spingel, about a dozen members of his staff who worked on yesterday's brunch were Caribbean, and he did consult his staff in preparing the meal. In the past, their knowledge of native cuisines helped in preparation of plantains, with which other staff cooks weren't as familiar.

Simpson and others say it would be nice if HDS allowed students to meet with these staff members in the context of Caribbean culture.

And Al-Ississ says he would want HDS to coordinate with ethnic student organizations when planning meals that claim to represent their cultures.

"If they approached us, we would be more than willing to provide them with suggestions that would make it more realistic," Al-Ississ says. "We could have coordinated other events at the same time to show our culture and food."