Diversity in the Dining Room continued...

Ken Kaufman, Frary Hall Dining Manager, said, “Offering our students an internationally diverse cuisine is just one way we try to offer appetizing choices to get students that aren’t that interested in vegetarian or vegan entrées to try them for the first time. Our job is to give them the opportunity and the encouragement to try something different that they may have never been exposed to before – and realize that they like it.”

Mr. Amland Stein, Executive Chef for Pomona College said, “We’re adding more international touches to both our menu and our serving style all the time. Offering a diverse cuisine has proven to be a great tool to drive student and faculty satisfaction.”

Chef Stein continued, “For the coming school year we are putting in a major European-style exhibition cooking area. The new area will feature lighter and healthier options, as the key to success with a culturally diverse menu is to keep it as fresh as you can. The new area will be tested in one of our three dining areas and, if it’s as successful as we believe it will be, expanded to our other facilities.”

“Students like having choices and the new facility will give the flexibility to assemble a truly culturally diverse meal. They can choose their protein from beef to tofu, select an international variety of vegetables from collard greens to bok choi, including organic choices, and finish it with multiple sauce alternatives.”

Whether it’s finding a way to fit a Thai entrée in a grab ‘n go operation or a Turkish-inspired lunch with distinctive Cajun seasoning overtones, college dining services professionals are looking at the entire globe today for a reference point as they develop their menu for the next semester.