The cold, crisp air flows through the open windows of the kitchen lab on the first floor of Lone Mountain. The open layout plan allows for students to see Executive Chef Jean-Marc Fullsack sharpening his intimidating knife set on the reflective silver countertop facing the desks. Surprisingly, there is no distinct smell radiating from the kitchen lab which is a tad odd considering it fills the slot for a cooking class every Wednesday afternoon.
Chef Fullsack, an instructor in the Hospitality Management Program has type, printed, and set up a list of food items that are currently on trend. His lesson plan for the day consists of discussing these food trends as well as specific cuts for the tray of produce he has laid out on the kitchen top.
Some of the items on the list are locally sourced meats and seafood, healthful kids meals, and street food/ food trucks just to name a few. Over the umbrella of these trends is dietary restrictions or preferences, to which the students in Chef Fullsack’s class contributed their thoughts on the rise of these trends. One student said she is seeing food that is dietary restricted oriented redeem themselves from their bad rap as demands from consumers are rising. Another student chimed in and said that perhaps the reason these specific products are at the price they are is because these companies have to compensate for their “fast production” with substitutes.
potential to bring awareness of food that is improving is marketing from restaurants
luxury vegan = avocado toast basic
one specific but not all agreed that places are very accommodating when dining out seen as picky, more options for meat lovers
While these are general food trends that have risen across the dining culture recently, they can also be applied to the food scene on college campuses- specifically at the University of San Francisco. A few of the students voiced their opinions on the ability of the catering company Bon Apetit to cater to the needs of vegan students and the like. Number six on the list reads sustainable food which is one of the number of reasons why people choose to become vegans. One student said “Vegan food can be good if it’s in original form, if it isn’t tainted like processed soy chicken.”
bars weren’t tasty, paleo wraps and black bean burgers
meat options were open longer than non- meat
needs accommodations
class opinion on these said trends and patterns/ quotes from them and jessy/ ariana/ kate
what they would like to see in the future for the cafeteria
have bars be more constant
introduce more grains
extend weekend hours
Cafeteria food has had and continues to have the reputation of not providing students with the most appetizing or healthiest of meals. Though as we see schools in countries around the world diversify their meals and make them healthy for students, perhaps it is time for America to ask themselves what they can do to emulate these effective plans. This is the direction consumers a.k.a. students would like to see cafeteria food go in but how does this come to fruition? From a business perspective, how does a catering company continue to make profit while satisfying the needs and wants of those directly consuming their product?
