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Design
is very much small dishes.”
The new greenhouse is also going to be an essential part of
Evergreens, the salad bar. “It has a backdrop with windows,
and that is where our greenhouse will sit,” said Keiser.
“The greenhouse will grow the greens for the salad bar,
so there is a farm-to-table connection there as well
when you first come up and enter the dining facility.”
The salad bar island also has its own “atmo-
sphere.” “From the ceiling, we have an about 3-foot-
high glass curtain wall storefront-type system that
frames it at the ceiling level,” he said. “We are
keeping that space about 12-15 degrees cooler than
the adjacent seating areas. That screen at the ceiling
helps us push that cold air down. When you
walk into that area to get that salad, you get
that cool refreshing feeling as well. It also
helps keep things on the salad bar greener
and crisper and last longer.”
Middleterranian is a venue that was
“We made a inspired by a popular one in C4C, which
concerted effort of us- features Persian cuisine. “What we were
ing very different flavor profiles for seeing is that Persian cuisine really took
our food venues like nothing else on a whole new level,” said Houle. “We
on campus,” said Juergen Friese, didn’t think it was going to be as popular
CFSP, associate director of Dining as it was. There is a lot of cuisine from that
Services. “Our hope is that the com- area that we really wanted to concentrate
munity that is using C4C and other on. We wanted to focus on the areas that
dining venues will go out to this side don’t get as much showtime, if you will.
of campus and join in the dining We wanted to go from Greece all the way to
center, creating a community and the Middle East, back down and around the
exposing themselves to new flavors top of Africa. We focused on Israel, Pales-
and regions of the world that are tine, Syria, Egypt and Turkey in developing
not available on the main campus.” those flavors because we see a lot of that
One of those unique venues is with our students asking for the healthier
Colorado Hearth, which strives Mediterranean diet, but we also saw the
to serve as many local products as Students can hop on stationary bikes high popularity of our Persian food, which
possible. “Our hope is to source and blend their own smoothies. mirrors the other places.”
everything from within 250 miles of Toast is the all-day breakfast venue. “We
Boulder,” said Paul Houle, CEC, director of Dining Services. had been hearing for years from students, and always had
“We know that is not necessarily the case, geographically speak- a student who would come in at 3 in the afternoon and be
ing, because peppercorns don’t really grow in Colorado. We surprised that breakfast was done,” he said. “We were really
source sunflower oil from Colorado. We source local animal getting a lot of feedback from our students that they wanted
proteins. We are working with local farmers’ markets and local breakfast all day.”
farmers to produce our products. The intention is that in the One of the items at Toast that the students demanded was
fall, when our greenhouse opens, we will be able to supple- make-your-own waffles. “Part of the old building had a build-
ment some of our produce from it for this venue as well.” your-own-waffle station, which was one of the most popular,”
He continued, “We are working with a local company he said. “The students were very adamant about having the
that aggregates all of those small businesses together, and same waffle bar experience at the new place. So that is part
we work with them to see that we can meet our pricepoints, of the Toast venue. We get our waffles from Heartland Foods
what and how much they have on hand, and what we have Products.”
on hand from other vendors. It is really close to an a la carte Houle wanted to make sure that Toast also went beyond
kitchen restaurant out there in the public sector.” traditional American breakfast cuisine. “We really wanted to
With the kind and amount of product unpredictable, menu bring in the rest of the world as well. Pho is actually considered
planning becomes different from other locations. “This venue a breakfast in Vietnam, so we wanted to do some Pho at that
was meant to really put the chefs back in the driver’s seat in station. We have the Israeli egg dish called shakshouka [eggs
moving the menus forward,” said Houle. “On most of our poached in a tomato and vegetable sauce]. We are bringing
campus, we use a menu management system. Menus are slated in other variations; chilaquiles from Mexico. We are really
out three weeks in advance. This [new sourcing] was meant to trying to take an international twist on breakfast, not just the
put the creativity back in the chef’s court. We wanted them to traditional eggs, bacon, pancakes and potatoes.”
work with local vendors and make those contacts. We wanted The venue also has a juice and smoothie bar — with a
them to really look and see what is seasonal, what is on hand unique twist. “We have some bicycles there that the students
and then make a dish. The main part of this, the dinner menu, can hop on and blend their own smoothie,” he said. “There is
20 | MARCH 2017 ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY