Eating & Drinking
MENSA STARS 2026 have been found!
MENSA STAR 2026, Studierendenwerk's big online recipe competition, has been decided: Around 1,000 students, dining hall guests and interested parties cast their votes online and chose their favorites in four recipe categories. The winning recipes were Bulgarische Moussaka, gefüllte Süßkartoffel mit Spinat und Feta, veganes Soja-Butter-Chicken and Brownie-Cheesecake. During a small award ceremony, the rankings were published and the winners were presented with their prizes.
Now they have been determined: the best recipes, the most delicious dishes, the MENSA STARS of the year 2026! About 150 students submitted their favorite dishes in April. There were four categories to choose from: Main course with fish or meat, vegetarian main course, vegan main course and dessert. After a pre-selection by Studierendenwerk's expert jury, about 1,000 online voters then took the opportunity to vote for their favorite. The voting week was exciting: In the vegetarian category, there was a captivating head to head race right up to the end - the "Gefüllte Süßkartoffel mit Spinat und Feta " dish finally won by just 7 votes more. In the dessert category, on the other hand, the winner was unstoppable in first place right from the start.
The authors of the five best recipes were honored at an awards ceremony in the foyer of Mensa Academica - prizes totaling more than 900 euros. Peter Schröder, Head of Mensa Academica, once again presented the nominated dishes and explained the jury criteria. The most important criteria were creativity and feasibility in the dining hall. The prizes were presented by student jurors.
The MENSA-STAR ranking:
Category „Main course with fish or meat“:
1. Bulgarische Moussaka - Denitsa Nikolova
2. Hähnchen-Geschnetzeltes in Erdnuss-Honig-Sauce -
Anne Sophie Kraft
3. Gefüllte Ofenkartoffel mit Bolognese - Lia Kriebel
4. Fischstäbchen mit Kartoffelpüree - Sophie Huang
5. Okroshka - Daria Babushkina
Category „Vegetarian main course“:
1. Gefüllte Süßkartoffel mit Spinat und Feta - Melina Sporkett
2. Linsenlasagne Bolognese-Art - Anne Sophie Kraft
3. Vegetarische Gnocchi-Pfanne mit Paprika-Sahne-Soße -
Sophie Huang
4. Kali Dal - Paul Düwel
5. Käsespätzle mit Sauerkraut - Moritz Seibel
Category „Vegan main course“:
1. Veganes Soja-Butter-Chicken - Artur Tarasiuk
2. Türkische Linsensuppe - Kübra Güven
3. Mango Sticky Rice - Elisabeth Nguyen
4. Schupfnudelpfanne mit Sauerkraut und veganem Speck -
Sophie Huang
5. Couscoussalat/Couscous-Tomaten-Salat - Jule Zitter
Category „Dessert“:
1. Brownie-Cheesecake - Kübra Güven
2. Printenquark mit Himbeerfruchtspiegel - Anne Sophie Kraft
3. Superfluffige Apfelpfannkuchen - Lara Hentschel
4. Cinnamon Apple Cake - Maha abughait
5. Zimt-Kürbis-Traum - Begümhan Evirgen
It is expected that the winning recipes will be available for tasting in our dining halls in July. More detailed information will be announced on our website.
Studierendenwerk congratulates all nominees and winners and thanks them for their great recipe suggestions!