At MenuDirections 2013 we will honor the 12 FSDs of the Month from 2012 and announce the 2012 FSD of the Year. The FSD advisory board and FSD staff choose the FSD of the Year, but we also want to hear from you. Take a second to look at the operators we’ve recognized this year and then head to our Facebook page—or send an email to lramsey@cspnet.com —and let us know who YOU think deserves the coveted title of FSD of the Year.
JANUARY 2012: PETER FISCHBACH
Peter Fischbach is director of food services for Gourmet Dining Services at 9,500-student New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, N.J.
What makes Peter Fischbach FSD of the Month?
• Developing a vast series of specials and monotony breakers to keep dining fresh for customers
• Creating an authentic Indian/Asian concept as part of a larger focus on ethnic cuisines
• Working with Gourmet Dining’s sustainability coordinator to implement a rooftop garden and more local purchasing
• Promoting a healthy eating program that offers students choices rather than mandates
FEBUARY 2012: ERIC GOLDSTEIN
Eric Goldstein is chief executive of The Office of School Support Services for the New York City Department of Education.
What makes Eric Goldstein FSD of the Month?
• Creating a team that is made up of diverse backgrounds and changing the department’s management structure
• Using a data-driven approach to study the foodservice program and make identified improvements
• Increasing participation in breakfast and summer meals by using innovative techniques such as mobile trucks
• Gradually making changes to the menus to gain student acceptability while increasing the healthfulness of the items served
MARCH 2012: CHERYL SHIMMIN
Cheryl Shimmin is network director of nutrition services for Kettering Health Network in Dayton, Ohio.
What makes Cheryl Shimmin FSD of the Month?
• Hiring culinarians to create an upscale, on-trend menu
• Developing the Boulevard Bakery, a retail outlet that features the system’s housemade baked goods
• Focusing on healthy dining options without limiting choices
• Implementing room service at all eight acute-care hospitals
• Opening two new kitchens and cafeterias within the span of four months
APRIL 2012: ERWIN SCHMIT
Erwin Schmit is foodservice director for Aramark at Grainger Headquarters in Lake Forest, Ill.
What makes Erwin Schmit FSD of the Month?
• Increasing participation by more than 20% and average daily sales by nearly 15% through innovative programming
• Building close relationships with his customers through one-on-one conversations to solicit feedback and responding quickly to requests
• Using his culinary background to create new takes on successful restaurant ideas
• Challenging his staff to think innovatively and to remember to always keep improving
MAY 2012: LINDA STOLL
Linda Stoll is executive director of foodservice for 85,000-student Jeffco Public Schools in Colorado.
What makes Linda Stoll FSD of the Month?
• Conducting focus groups to better understand student desires and tailoring the foodservice program around those findings with programs like build-your-own bars
• Hiring an executive chef and doing more quick scratch cooking
• Working with local companies to create new products like customized spice packets
• Partnering with the high schools to run the student stores and vending machines
JUNE 2012: ANGELO MOJICA
Angelo Mojica is director of food and nutrition services at the University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill.
What makes Angelo Mojica FSD of the Month?
• Boosting skills and morale of staff through regular communication and educational programs such as Black Hat Chefs
• Enhancing patient menus and service in a way that has led to a more than 70-percentage-point increase in patient satisfaction
• Creating a self-branded retail program that is expected to generate $10 million in revenue this year
• Developing a patient room service program called Restaurant Delivery that makes use of UNCH’s retail menus
JULY 2012: GINNIE DUNLEAVY
Ginnie Dunleavy is director of dining at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.
What makes Ginnie Dunleavy FSD of the Month?
• Transitioning dining services from contracted to self-op, which increased cash revenue by 300% and meal plan participation from 58% to 86%
• Focusing on building relationships by training her staff to understand the unique demands of the RISD student
• Showing ingenuity by connecting with students who are working on projects that align with dining services’ mission
• Designing a program based on embracing community, common sense and a high-risk, high-reward mentality such as allowing unlimited dining access to first-year students
AUGUST 2012: LARRY BATES
Larry Bates is director of dining services at 500-resident Riddle Village in Media, Pa.
What makes Larry Bates FSD of the Month?
• Fostering a team atmosphere where managers have the freedom to be creative
• Adding dining venues and amenities to prevent resident boredom
• Implementing the flex dining program, where residents have a certain dollar amount to spend each month
• Increasing menu options and adding upscale items
SEPTEMBER 2012: HARRY DOROFEE
Harry Dorofee is food service director for Flik International Corp. at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, a New York law firm.
What makes Harry Dorofee FSD of the Month?
• Managing an off-premise kitchen during a renovation of the main café, which provided food for a temporary café and catering, without a reduction in service
• Increasing café participation by 11% and catering sales by 23% through renovations and the addition of well-known local brands
• Making the program more efficient by combining the catering and café menus into one
• Creating an environment where associates are encouraged to see themselves as “owners” of their jobs
OCTOBER 2012: RICK HUGHES
Rick Hughes is director of food and nutrition services for 30,000-student Colorado Springs School District 11.
What makes Rick Hughes FSD of the Month?
• Launching the Good Food Project, which sets standards for the foods that can be served in schools. Menu items are no longer highly processed, have additives or added sugars
• Hiring an executive chef to teach the staff to cook most food from scratch
• Altering how food is cooked by turning four kitchens into processing hubs that focus on a specific food type like baked goods
• Focusing on sustainability by purchasing $750,000 in local products last year and by starting a school greenhouse/garden concept
NOVEMBER 2012: JOIE SCHOONOVER
Joie Schoonover is director of dining and culinary services at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
What makes Joie Schoonover FSD of the Month?
• Spearheading the construction and opening of two major facilities, both of which opened this year, while simultaneously working on three more construction projects
• Changing the department’s foodservice systems to adapt to the needs of the department’s new operations
• Leading a major staff restructuring, which decreased the number of layers of people between Schoonover and her managers
• Improving purchasing practices by combining vendor contracts and implementing a cycle menu, which helped forecast ordering more accurately
DECEMBER 2012: BECKY HASSINGER
Becky Hassinger is manager of dining and nutrition services at the University of Missouri Health Care, in Columbia.
What makes Becky Hassinger FSD of the Month?
• Renovating the system’s main retail locations to improve service and traffic flow and to create a comfortable dining environment
• Focusing on healthier eating by removing fryers and using better-for-you applications
• Implementing room service, which increased patient satisfaction
• Revamping the patient menu to include a staple of favorites and a rotating selection of seasonal specials