College kids today are not eating gruel out of a porridge bowl — unless, of course, they’re living off-campus and fending for themselves. Then, they’re eating ramen disguised as gruel.
The students at the University of Dayton apparently are eating particularly well. How do we know? Well, for the seventh consecutive year, the National Association of College & University Food Services has awarded UD’s dining services a silver medal for overall operations at Marycrest dining facilities and a gold medal for operations in Kennedy Union during Christmas on Campus.
UD has received at least one medal in each of the seven years it has entered the 700-member association’s competition.
The Kennedy Union “International Taste of Christmas” spread included dishes from — yes — around the world, including Pierogis from Poland, El Arroz y Frijoles con Leche de Coco (chicken legs in coconut milk over rice and beans) from Guatemala, and Bilo-bilo (sticky rice balls) from the Phillippines, Mary C Eilbeck, UD’s director of dining services, told us.
We asked Mary about what has changed about college food service over the last few decades. Here was her reply:
“One of our most noticeable changes is that in each of our units, we have at least one chef who actually researches trends for new dishes and flavors. They need to be very versatile.
“The next is that we prepare between 70 to 80 percent of all the food out in front of the customer. They select their ingredients, which include a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, and we add the sauces and protein then heat to finish the dishes.
“The last is the flavor profiles that we need to come up with. Our customers are very sophisticated and we are here to make sure they never get bored with the food selections.
“Of course, one of our top sellers is still chicken tenders with fries!”
Because sophistication doesn’t always satisfy the soul quite like a plateful of chicken tenders …
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