Dishcovery
Dishcovery harnesses the power of shared meals to facilitate new encounters and promote cultural exchange.
A project by Erisa Behluli, Nastasya Buling and Abasse Dia
2nd semester, 2025
Supervised by: Prof. Andrea Krajewski, Torben Toepper and Dieter Stasch
The problem
For many, studying abroad means discovering new cultures, broadening one’s horizons and making friends with people from all over the world. However, the reality is often quite different: international students in particular experience uncertainty, language barriers and difficulties in establishing contacts with local fellow students at the start.
Instead of fostering intercultural exchange, this often leads to cultural barriers. International students often remain within their own ‘bubble’, whilst many local students also rarely take the opportunity to look beyond their own horizons. This is precisely where Dishcovery aims to step in and create a low-threshold, open platform for interaction
Building connections through shared meals
International and local students often have few opportunities to interact in their day-to-day university life. Dishcovery aims to change that: at regular dining events, participants bring a home-cooked dish from their home country and share it with others. Every dish tells a story. In this relaxed setting, conversations and new friendships naturally develop.
The website
A key component of Dishcovery is the accompanying website. Here, anyone interested can register for the events, specify which dish they would like to bring and what it means to them. This enables the hosts to help participants present their dishes and spark conversations about them.
After the events, the website also offers the opportunity to upload photos, recipes or short accounts of the experience. This creates an ever-growing collection of culinary impressions and memories.