On Monday, March 31, Pierce Dining Hall decided to take a shift from its usual dinner offerings. Students were greeted with a handful of fun beach-themed activities and live music performance in addition of the main highlight of the dinner: carefully-crafted cuisines from recipes prepared by chefs from three different universities, Marist College, SUNY New Paltz, and our own Stevens Institute of Technology. The three institutions were given a set of required ingredients in their cooking and the cuisines had to be appealing to the students, as the one with most votes won.
The students were delighted with the cuisines offered. Senior student Fatah said, “I am delighted by how the recipes were invented using choices of ingredients available for them.” Fatah enjoyed “The Elvis Sandwich,” a sandwich made from whole wheat pita bread filled with peanut butter, bananas, and bacon. However, another student suggested that Chef’s Fare could have been better if the ingredients used in the competition were suitable to everyone; any student with an allergy towards nuts would have a very limited menu.
Chef Michael Hoysradt from SUNY New Paltz was proud with his creation, “The Elvis Sandwich.” The recipe was chosen because Chef’s Fare competition requires peanut butter and jelly for his offering. Besides, it is also practical because it does not take too much preparation time. With 35 years of experience in food service, Chef Hoysradt has also invented a number of other recipes. When Chef Hoysradt was asked which part of the cuisine that he personally liked, he answered, “The peanut is the best.”
Stevens came up with its own twist of ravioli with a recipe developed in-house by Chef Mervin Henry. Jatoma Gavin, the Resident Dining Manager for Stevens Dining Services, said tat the Stevens team has been participated in several rounds of Chef’s Fare at other universities, and this is the time for Stevens to be the host. “Chef’s Fare gives us platform to showcase our culinary expertise of Sodexo USA, which operates about 6,000 different facilities in the USA alone”, said Gavin, who has been working for 10 years in food service industry, “Apart from that, Chef’s Fare is a great opportunity to give more value towards the customers and come up with something different than usual offerings.”
Chef Anthony from Marist College has come up with “SliderDogg,” chosen from several dozens of recipes that he has invented. Made from hot dog ingredients to look like a slider, it embodies all American-style cuisines in one plate. SliderDogg is prepared specially for a sports-themed event, according to Chef Anthony. There were five of them at the preparation and serving line because they have a sizeable crowd and they aim to eliminate long queue lines for SliderDogg. Marist Dining Services is not new with larger crowd as they also serve 4,000 meals a day with 750-seat dining hall capacity, according to its Sustainability and Marketing Manager, Ted Alban.
Stevens Dining Services was glad to be part of the initiative to promote better dining experience on campus. Pierce Dining Hall is our all-you-care-to eat dining facility that located on the second floor of the Wesley J. Howe Center, and is the heart of the dining program at Stevens Institute of Technology. It offers continuous dining 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to Midnight. Please contact dining@stevens.edu for questions and feedback.
Be First to Comment