Officials at the University of California Irvine acknowledged Wednesday that serving chicken and waffles at a campus cafeteria in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day was not in "good taste," but said the chef is not being disciplined.

The incident first reported in the OC Weekly occurred Jan. 17 when a chef at Pippin Commons and several other staff members determined the menu without any oversight from the university, said UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon.

The menu and a sign reading "MLK Holiday Special: Chicken and Waffles" were thrown together at the last minute and not in the "best taste," she said.

The meal passed uneventfully except for one member of the Black Student Union, who lodged a formal complaint, she said.

Thomas Parham, vice chancellor of student affairs, tried to schedule a meeting with the chef and student, but the student declined, Lawhon said. Parham was unavailable for comment.

Lawhon described the possible meeting as an opportunity for a “teachable moment.”

“The sign was probably more of a touch point than the food itself,” Lawhon said.