Page 12 - och1016_Magazine

Trends

On-Campus Hospitality Roundtable
On-Campus Hospitality asked seven higher education foodservice executives to tell us
what they thought about some of the latest issues affecting the industry.

THE CHANGING MENU with technology to enhance these areas, center of the plate.
such as mobile app ordering, has also
On-Campus Hospitality: What are been a trend that we are developing on GARETT DISTEFANO:
the big trends that you have noticed grounds at U.Va. Dining and Aramark in
recently? Were there any that sur- order to provide the service that drives Healthy beverages are becoming
prised you with their popularity or customer satisfaction. more popular with students. Over the
past two years UMass experienced a 22
their continuing popularity? SAMUEL CROSS: percent decline in sugary beverages, par-
ticularly soda. Students are gravitating
JOHN BURNETTE: One of the largest trends that we are towards healthier teas, infused waters,
experiencing is healthy food with more smoothies and agua fresca. Global cuisine
Convenience, healthy options, variety focus on the vegetable component, mean- continues to grow in popularity. A few
and price/value stay at the forefront of ing a more creative and healthy approach examples are:
what is driving our business. Working to vegetables and bringing them to the
Korean:
THE RESPONDENTS: 1. Bibim Naengmyeaon - “spicy Ko-

JOHN BURNETTE, Senior Food Service rean noodles” served with spicy chilled
Director (Aramark), U.Va. Dining, Uni- bibim sauce along with sweet, tangy and
versity of Virginia; Charlottesville, Va. crunchy radish pickles and sweet, juicy
and crispy Asian pear.
SAMUEL CROSS, Gen- GARETT DISTEFANO, ROBERT FLOCCARI,
eral Manager (Sodexo), Director of Residential Director of Dining 2. Bi Bim Bop – the one-bowl dishes
(Chartwells), York Col- continue to grow in popularity
University Dining Dining, University of lege of Pennsylvania;
Services, Wichita State Massachusetts – Am- 3. Jap Chae - Korean Glass Noodles
University; Wichita, Kan. herst; Amherst, Mass. York, Pa.
Mediterranean:
GARY C. GOLDBERG, JILL IRVIN, DIRECTOR, LENORE MUSICK, Di- 1. Greek Sea Bass with Saganaki
Director UW Dining, University Dining; rector of PantherDining,
University of Washing- Rice Pilaf
ton; Seattle, Wash. University of Iowa; Iowa Georgia State Univer- 2. Braised green salad
City, Iowa sity; Atlanta, Ga. 3. Dolmas

Chinese:
Dim Sum: UMass Dining routinely

features Dim Sum at all locations. This
year we plan on setting up a Dim Sum
bar.

An interesting trend is the growth
in vegetarian dishes. UMass hosted a
diversity dinner for all first-year students;
UMass Dining featured globally influ-
enced recipes. One of the most popular
stations was vegetarian.

ROBERT FLOCCARI:

The trends we have noticed in Cen-
tral Pennsylvania seem to be more of a
shift in eating habits rather than food
fads. Over the past year we have seen
a decrease in the popularity of beef,
while pork has seen an increase with
our guests. Vegetarian diets have also
seen an increase with our student pop-
ulation, particularly those looking for
vegan options. While we have always

12 | OCTOBER 2016 ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY