Written by: Mason Pranevich
King Charles of England would have loved to be on the Kent State University campus on April 23, 2026. The university was throwing a dinner fit for royalty; however, the intended audience wasn’t wearing yellow and purple. DI Dining was hosting a new event which turned into one of the most hyped experiences of the second semester, feeding (literally) into what college students love the most: food.
The Golden Experience was a dinner unlike what many students would expect from a university, with high quality cuisine and atmosphere at one of our very own dining halls. For the price of a meal swipe and a $10 charge, roughly $24 total, students could enjoy a buffet style experience from chefs pooled across campus – some taken from prep positions and others from management positions.
As a foodie, I was immediately interested in the opportunity. I’ve tried every place on campus this past year along with over half of the restaurants in downtown Kent. My reservation was set and eventually the day came.
After the meal, I wondered, would Kent State Culinary ever do something like this again? As homage to this question, this article will take you through my “golden experience” – highlighting everything I ate to conclude whether this should become tradition or simply a memory.
The first step was my arrival – I was taken by a student employee to be seated along with being given a ticket for a steak. As mentioned before, the Golden Experience was a buffet, however the only one-time item was the steak. On the way to my seat, I was offered a watermelon bite covered with feta cheese and balsamic glaze. This simple appetizer had set the tone for the night – carefully crafted dishes by real chefs. I’d give this appetizer a solid 8/10.
After walking around to figure out what my next item would be, I decided to stop at the Southern Station and got a plate consisting of a baked potato, baked mac and cheese, and grilled asparagus. I absolutely loved the mac and cheese, especially since that is one of my favorite comfort foods. You may be wondering, was this mac and cheese any different from the typical DI Dining mac? The answer is very confidently yes. It reminded me of my mother’s mac and cheese and gets a perfect 10/10 because of it. The baked potato bar had many extras to include, but I went with the standard cheese, bacon, and chives. You can’t make a baked potato much better than that, so yet again I would give a 10/10 because of the variety of extras. Finally, the asparagus – one of my favorite vegetables. I would give those a solid 9/10 as I think they had some great flavor, however the tips were a little dry.
I decided to take a quick break from large plates to have some more appetizers. The first of the three I ate – and my favorite – was the beef wellington bite. I generally hate mushrooms; however, this bite was incredibly good. The meat inside was soft and juicy and blended perfectly with the earthy taste of the mushrooms, but the white sauce that I assumed to be horseradish elevated it. This was definitely my most unexpectedly great meal of the night, and possibly even my favorite across the board so it gets a solid 11/10. The next appetizer was the tomato bruschetta, which while simple, was great. The flavors from each of the ingredients went together so well, netting this a solid 10/10. The last appetizer, the fig and mascarpone phyllo bite, was probably my least favorite but not bad. Although this may just be my personal taste, the pastry outside was too crunchy for me, along with the sauce being just okay – overall a 7/10.
Throughout the night I also enjoyed a variety of mocktails curated to different tastes. I was able to try all four of them and have ranked them based on my taste. The best of which being the Sunset Cherry Spritz, as I am a sucker for cherry flavored drinks. A 10/10 drink that tastes similarly to a Shirley Temple with a fruitier touch. Next, I tried the Blueberry Bliss, featuring (obviously) a blueberry flavor with a slight hint of mint. This was also a 10/10 and if I would’ve stayed longer these two would’ve been my go-to drinks. After that I tried the Island Lime Cooler, which had a sugar rim. Overall, it was a 9/10 and had a nice lime taste. Lastly, I tried the Golden Sunrise, which surprisingly was the only drink to not have a fruit in the title. It was a primarily tasting pineapple drink with multiple fruits as garnish, although I am not a huge fan of pineapple flavors, so I would give it a 7/10 – still great, just not for me.
Moving back to food, I sat up to go grab my last meal: the made-to order steak. I had given my ticket for a medium rare steak (the best way to cook a steak) to the chefs and now went to retrieve it along with crispy chicken, au gratin potatoes, mashed potatoes, sauteed broccolini, and truffle butter. The steak was just fine, it could’ve been slightly larger, however the quality made up for that. The only gripe I had with it is that my steak arrived rare, not medium rare, but I would still give it a 9/10. Adding the truffle butter to it masked the flavor of the steak a little too much, so the truffle butter with steak was a 8/10. Honestly – although the chicken was all you can eat – was better than the steak. The crispy chicken was juicy, seasoned nicely, and large. Overall, it gets a 9/10. Between the au gratin and mashed potatoes, I enjoyed the latter more. The mashed potatoes had a creamier texture which I prefer, but both potato dishes net a 10/10. Finally, the broccolini had the same issues as the asparagus, with too dry tips. I preferred the asparagus, so the broccolini gets a 7/10.
Now for everyone’s favorite part: dessert; and I was only able to try the banana foster. They prepared it once I walked up to the table, so along with the sweet, I also got a show. Flambeed fresh bananas, vanilla ice cream, cake, and brown sugar proved a great combination – it nets a 10/10. The two desserts I was unable to try (and I really wanted to) were the triple chocolate mousse cake with raspberry sauce and the white chocolate blueberry cheesecake.
The original question of “should Kent do it again?” should seem obvious now. I very much enjoyed my time at the Golden Experience and wish I could’ve stayed to try more, but I had another event to go to. Some other dishes that I missed or skipped include a chimichurri steak bowl, pan-seared salmon, a salad bar, and mini crab cakes – and of course the mousse cake and cheesecake…
For a small extra fee, students got to experience great food and atmosphere. I sincerely hope Kent State Culinary will have another Golden Experience, and if they do, you should attend, as even the king of England would enjoy it.
Photo credits: Mason Pranevich