News & Events

University of Connecticut Department of Dining Services
Presented the NACUFS Sustainability Sub-Regional Training Workshop
On Thursday, January 10, 2008 at Whitney Dining Facility

Workshop Title:Contemporary Twists to Traditional Winter Menus

“Who says you can’t have fun with northeast winter ingredients? In this workshop, we’ll hear from an archaeologist about how our ancestors survived without things like Chilean grapes and hot house tomatoes in January. John Turenne of Sustainable Food Systems will frame the idea of using traditional and seasonal ingredients in modern recipes. After which we all get our creativity going with custom designed and prepared versions of this theory.”

The program began at 10:00am with several introductions from the VP of Student Affairs, John Saddlemire; UConn Director of Dining Services, C. Dennis Pierce; and Rebecca Gorin, UConn Assistant Manager and Local Routes Program Coordinator.

Nick Bellantoni, Connecticut State Archaeologist gave an animated presentation on the Historical Perspective on Winter Eating in New England. John Tureen, founder of Sustainable Food Systems, LLC, spoke about using seasonal ingredients in conventional recipes to “spice” things up a bit.

Attendees then divided into 8 groups to discuss and plan how they were going to apply what they learned to the preparation of customized recipes using available seasonal ingredients. A delicious lunch was prepared by the Whitney Dining staff, and attendees hashed out their recipes while enjoying lamb pastitsio, winter squash gratin, mushroom stroganoff, winter cabbage slaw, apple cranberry grunt and UConn dairy bar ice cream.

Then it was down to the compact but well-stocked kitchen for one and one-half hours to begin creating. Thirty-two attendees representing nine northeastern colleges and universities exhibited camaraderie, as well as competitiveness, as everyone found the ingredients they needed and began the cooking frenzy. Completed menu items were brought upstairs to the dining room and presented by each team, critiqued by all the attendees, and quickly consumed. Comments on the event were all positive.

Available ingredients Included:

• Fruits: apples, pears, cranberries, oranges, limes, lemons, apple cider, black currant juice
• Vegetables: beets, cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, celery root, garlic, green kale, black kale, chard, crimini mushrooms, Portobello mushrooms, button mushrooms, onions, parsnips, assorted northeast potatoes, rutabaga, sweet potatoes, turnips, winter squash, fresh herbs
• Meats: ground beef, chuck roasts, ground lamb, assorted sandwich meats
• Poultry: Chicken breast
• Fish: clams, winter flounder, sea scallops
• Dairy: whole milk, 2% milk, yogurt, eggs, butter, shredded mozzarella cheese shredded asiago cheese, Grated parmesan cheese, Cream cheese, Swiss cheese
• Preserves: tomato puree, diced tomato, crushed tomatoes, split peas, lentils, black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans
• Other available foods: tofu, honey, maple syrup, white rice, brown rice, basmati rice, penne, spaghetti, flour, sugar, spices, fresh baquettes, hard rolls, herb wraps, pizza crusts, pie shells

Team members and each of their responsibilities follows: