I haven't heard of this dish before, but, I would ask your co-worker.
Rutabaga is great cooked in several different ways,
some times, I cook it by it self with just a spoon of sugar added and cooked with just enough water to cover.
Its good cooked in New England boil, with ham,cabbage,carrots,onion,potato,pepper and rutabaga
you can cook them, mash it like mashed potato's, season with salt,pepper and butter or even a little honey
hope you find the recipe, it sounds interesting