D-Hall Giveth and Taketh Away

September 23rd, 2011 | By Eric Mistry | Section: News

With eight professionally certified chefs on staff and a veritable army of student bakers, cooks and staff, the Dining Hall is a complicated entity with a seemingly simple job. On top of dealing with the sheer numbers of people they must feed, Dining Services also does a great deal of extra work ensuring students have delectable, nutritious meals. This includes devising new recipes, planning special events and spending over a week each summer poring over the results of the student dining survey. The Dining Hall is constantly changing, adapting and evolving.

One of the most hotly discussed topics in regards to the Dining Hall is the end of the Dining Hall serving favorite items like chicken wings and mozzarella sticks.

“The problem is with production, not cost,” Dick Williams said. “It is simply too hard on the staff.”

Wing Night originally started serving 400 lbs of wings, but by the end of last year, the Dining Hall was serving over 800 lbs. It simply was not possible to keep up with demand.

Not all changes have been losses, however. The salad bar and stir-fry station also changed to improve their quality and speed. The salad bar has a new rotation system that ensures that the freshness of the vegetables is at its highest.

“This has added a significant amount of work to the salad bar station, but the students are reaping the benefits. The salad bar has also been featuring more puddings and side dishes in an effort to better serve the students,” Williams said.

The new stir-fry system asks that students wait until they receive their plate before leaving the station. While some may bemoan having to wait while their dish is cooked, cook time is faster.

“Before, students were waiting an average of four to five minutes for stir-fry, sometimes up to 10 minutes. Now, the average wait is two minutes,” Williams said.

To replace some of the student favorites like Wing Night, Dining Services began several new innovations from the Burrito Bar and Gluten Free Station to the Foods of the World Series. Dining Services created the Burrito bar as a result of the student dining survey at the end of last year.

“We really read the student survey quite carefully, listening to your ideas,” said Head Chef Scott Turley.

The Foods of the World Series, which began Wednesday with Tapas Night, is designed to feature a different culture each month. Dining Services is continuously looking for opportunities to improve the eating experience of each student and would love to hear anything students want to say. Student demand is what fuels Dining Hall changes.

“We want to hear your comments, positive or negative,” said Chef Turley. “That’s how we get better.”