# Dorm Room Restaurants This Student is Revolutionizing University Dining with Shared Gourmet Meals By Charlotte Joyce Kidd | Published 2015-10-10 | Lifestyle Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/university-dining References: [grubstreet](http://www.grubstreet.com/2015/10/columbia-tasting-restaurant.html) & [metro](http://metro.co.uk/2015/10/09/american-student-opens-restaurant-in-his-dorm-room-and-hes-already-booked-out-till-christmas-break-5430997/) University dining usually involves generic food in overcrowded meal halls or ramen noodles from a plastic cup. One student is changing all that by staging his own [unique university dining experience](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/private-dining-event). Economics student Jonah Reider has created a game-changing dorm room restaurant called Pith. Via [Yelp](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/chefs-hall), up to four guests can sign up to share a meal with Reider in his [Columbia University](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/3d-printed-cheesecake) dorm room. Reider cooks world-class fare -- recent dishes include rainbow trout with beet and pumpernickel croutons and seared scallops on a bed of chanterelle polenta with date and chili oil. He also chats, dines and plays music for his guests. The entire university dining experience runs at 15 - 20$ a head, plus extra for alcoholic beverages. Reider insists that Pith isn't truly a restaurant. In fact, he says that the idea is counter-conceptual to a restaurant model: whereas Reider eats and talks with his guests, a conventional restaurant inherently divides creator and consumer. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 6.4/10 - Popularity: 83% | Activity: 100% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Lifestyle](https://www.trendhunter.com/lifestyle) > [Food](https://www.trendhunter.com/food) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Dorm Room Restaurants:** The trend of students creating their own personalized, gourmet dining experiences in their dorm rooms offers opportunities for disrupting traditional university dining services. - **Shared Dining Experiences:** The trend of shared, intimate dining experiences, facilitated by services like Yelp and other social media platforms, provides opportunities for innovating new ways to create and enjoy high-end cuisine. - **Conversational Dining:** The trend of conversational, community-building dining experiences, where guests can engage with their hosts in casual conversation provides opportunities for more social and personalized dining experiences. ### Who This Affects Most - **Higher Education:** Higher education institutions can innovate how they approach student dining services by embracing the idea of personalized, gourmet experiences that cater to the demands of contemporary college students. - **Hospitality:** Restaurants and hotels could leverage the new trend of creating more socially engaging, luxury dining experiences for their customers, harnessing the power of social media platforms to attract and retain new clientele. - **Food and Beverage:** The food and beverage industry could benefit from an increase in the popularity of high-end, intimate dining experiences by leveraging new technologies to create new, innovative ways to enjoy and promote their products. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [One-Night-Only Dining Events](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/saratoga-supper-club-2025.md) - [Student-Focused Foodie Tours](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/deliveroo-the-grub-crawl.md) - [College-Targeted Food Pop-Ups](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-one-shop.md) - [Menu-Inspired Dorm Decor](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/urban-outfitters-x-chipotle.md) - [Warm Fine-Dining Restaurants](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cove-2.md) - [Student-Friendly Digital Cookbooks](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/cookin-somethin-for-college.md) - [Branded Dining Experiences](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/a-taste-of-homegoods.md) - [Taco-Themed Dorm Makeovers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tacommodation.md) - [Repurposed Train Carriage Experiences](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/train-carriage.md)