Greetings from Dennis Pierce, Director of Dining Services

Spring Semester 2007

Greetings:

Sometimes in our haste to provide ourselves with nourishment we seldom pause to think about the origins of the recipes that are behind the food that we eat. As the main provider of foodservice to the UConn community, Dining Services is confronted with the challenges of meeting the demands of a significantly diverse population. So where do we come up with recipes for our menus to fill our database that currently has four thousand two hundred and eighty one recipes? Well, last year we took a novel approach and sent out well over one thousand postcards asking parents of first year students for their favorite recipes. Our program was called “Recipes from Home”. The result of this venture provided us with numerous entries that were taste-tested and added into our resident dining menus. These items will be highlighted this semester in the UCuisine so that students and parents can see what recipes are being featured.

Food from home... it stems from the culture of the family and our heritage. It provides one with a stopping place where memories of meals and gatherings center and help us to realign with the world around us. So do we take food for granted? Here at the University of Connecticut, designing menu offerings for our numerous dining venues is a challenge. Students expect food that has value, convenience, variety, is trendy, "fun," and healthy. To add variety to menus it must be threaded with culturally enhanced ethnic dishes as well as those old time favorites that provide comfort and solace throughout students’ challenges with their academic pursuits. This semester we have aligned with the three top trends of the many fast casual concepts in the marketplace by adding Mexican, Asian and more sandwich options. These mesh perfectly with student expectations for ethnic, healthy/fresh, on-demand choices to suit the many different diet choices students practice. Diet is not restricted just to moderation but is also in meal choices where students come to expect vegetarian/vegan, and low-carb options. As we find that students are educated and curious about their food choices we have become aware that students want to know where the meal components were sourced and how it was prepared. We provide answers through our point of sale materials as well as information on our website. Dining Services provides endless information through our website where individuals can research the nutritional analysis of our menu offerings. In our research we have found that this site has been one of the most popular web sites in the Division of Student Affairs. At last our efforts are recognized as an integral part of the educational process.

So what’s new this semester? As mentioned above, our resident dining units will be featuring many “Recipes From Home”. Additionally, the new Union Street Market will be featuring all of their successful offerings from last semester as well as a few new surprises. On east campus, we will continue to create new recipes in Whitney, our sustainable dining facility, which features locally produced items. Lastly, one initiative that we are especially excited about is our new food venue as Dining Services will begin to operate Café Co-op in the foyer of the Co-op Bookstore. This enterprise will feature breakfast options, panini sandwiches, steamed Asian baos (a steamed bun filled with barbecue meat or a vegetable mixture) and Pho, which is a Vietnamese noodle bowl. We will also have an array of pastries and snacks to meet every craving. It is an exciting time for our staff and the creative juices are really flowing.

With all that said, let us know how we can meet your needs.Your dining experience has to be a memorable one or we have failed to provide you with services that you expect.

Eat well, enjoy life, pursue your dreams.

C. Dennis Pierce

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