UC Berkeley Opens Dining Spot With Kosher, Halal Options
BERKELEY (KCBS) – The University of California, Berkeley is offering a more inclusive dining experience, by opening the first kosher and halal dining station in the UC system.
Cafe 3 on Durant Avenue is the dining hall for the Unit 3 residential hall, one of 14 dining halls on the Cal campus.
"So what we've done in this particular hall is to go predominantly vegetarian and vegan, pork and shellfish free. But added a certified kosher station that serves meat, grain and a side item like potatoes," said Shawn LaPean, executive director of Cal Dining at UC Berkeley.
LaPean described it as a "hall for all."
Campus rabbi Gil Leeds met his wife when they were students at Cal back in 2001.
"Bracha, my wife, she tried to keep kosher in the dorms, she survived cereal and milk and bread and butter three meals a day," Gil said.
The Kosher dining station uses paper plates, the food is inspected to ensure guidelines are followed and that products come from certified sources.
The dining station is also designed to appeal to Muslims who eat halal.
"And particularly people with religious restrictions, you have to take care of them at a different level, because we have to learn from each other.
Leeds said it's a dream come true to have the kosher option. "My wife and I are proud to call UC Berkeley our alma mater," he said.
The public can also eat at the dining hall for $12.