She watches him, letting him speak without interruption; not sure what a 'poor student on a budget' would be defined as (an apprentice? from a world where children weren't put in Houses to learn their roles), but she doesn't speak to ask. Not until the question asked, a glance given to the utensils.

"Curries are a food described as warm and spicy," she answers; indirectly a no, but revealing her amount of familiarity. "I have read the recipe books, and was told a curry recipe is on the current menu that this vessel supplies."

And, because it can't be inappropriate to ask, can it? She does pause, and: "Is curry the food that... your people eat? The coworkers of your...student establishment?"

She uses a word similar to serjin for coworkers, but there's a slight distinction in pronunciation. A closer meaning, without any fondness or anything affectionate.