Diners get a peek at the process
By Amy McKeever on Jan. 17, 2017In 2015, Boston University’s Dining Services surpassed its three-year sustainable purchasing goal in just one year. A major driver: the university’s students. Spurred on by diner surveys, the department has spent the past decade investing in a robust program of food waste reduction, energy efficiency and local food sourcing. And Marketing Director Scott Rosario jokes that the department wanted credit for that. “We want [students] to know we are aligning ourselves with their interests,” he says.
Today’s consumers are looking for details on where their food is coming from, how it’s made and who is making it. According to Technomic’s 2016 Healthy Eating Consumer Trend Report, more than half of consumers want restaurants to be more open about their menus, a trend that carries over to noncommercial preferences. In response, operators across all segments are working to break down barriers to show diners the value of their dining experiences.
Rising culinary transparency can be explained at least in part by generational expectations and societal change. At BU, Rosario has noticed that changes in foodservice trends and diner demographics have produced a student body that is food-savvier than ever, having eaten out more than previous generations. They also have different expectations for information. “We live in such an information-driven society,” adds Mary Kate Harrison, general manager of student nutrition for Hillsborough County Schools in Tampa, Fla. “I think we cannot be left behind.”
Spreading the message
One of the more obvious ways operators share information with diners is on the menu itself. Daily menus at Connecticut-based Maplewood Senior Living communities detail which of the more than 100 regional farms have supplied the day’s produce. BU lists its vendors on signage at each station, and provides more detailed information about vendors on its napkin dispensers.
Meanwhile, Hillsborough schools provide nutritional information next to each item, and use color-coded cafeteria trays to teach students about food groups and the nutrients their bodies need. Because its young diners aren’t always ready to take control of their own health, the Tampa school system takes nutritional transparency home. Parents can pull up the daily cafeteria menu on their smartphones and scroll over each item to view ingredients and potential allergens. Schools can also send parents surveys through the app for feedback on any menu changes.
Taking diners behind the scenes
It’s also important to show as well as tell, operators say. Many FSDs are strengthening their relationships with diners by bringing them behind the scenes. Hillsborough County Schools brings its food operations out into the dining room once a week for Try It Tuesdays. Cafeteria workers bring trays of new and unusual preparations of ingredients—especially vegetables—out to students as samples in addition to their meals.
But students aren’t the only stakeholders. “It’s always dismaying to hear how little parents know about what we do,” Harrison says. Since 2012, Hillsborough County has invited parents behind the lunch counter for kitchen tours to help them understand how it all works. Soon, the student nutrition department will move into a stand-alone building, which will also offer tours to parents as well as cooking demonstrations for students.
Maplewood Senior Living has shifted toward open kitchens in recent years as well, inspired by trends in the commercial sector. Andrea Ellen, vice president of marketing and communication, says the open format also has a functional purpose for a senior living community. One memory care community has three open kitchens—one for each floor of the building—to create an atmosphere that’s more like dining at home and less disorienting for residents. “We saw that it’s about the food, it’s about the relationship, it’s about the connections between the chefs and the residents, it’s about the smells,” Ellen says.
Exhibition kitchens have been key to BU’s dining hall renovations to create a Fresh Food Company concept, where students can see staff prepping and seasoning food. They also experience dining more intimately through create-your-own stations. “It really is a lot of fun,” Rosario says. “You get students going there specifically because they want the stir-fry.”
Bringing in the community
A key way Hillsborough schools have connected with parents and students alike has been through special events programming. Seven years ago, the school district launched its now-annual Fresh Flavors Food Show, inviting 250 students from across the county to weigh in on what should appear on menus the following year. Students use iPads to evaluate potential culinary concepts as their parents, principals and the media look on. Harrison says parents have been impressed both at the realization that the school food is homemade, as well as the fact that schools are seeking kids’ input. “It really has become an important event,” she says.
One Maplewood Senior Living community offers its own riff on theme nights; when a new resident arrives in the community, the chef asks for any favorite family recipes and develops a similar meal as a welcome dinner to encourage connections among the residents themselves. The company also offers cooking classes and contests to keep residents engaged, and recently acquired a farm that will provide its communities with produce and agricultural classes, as well as accessible pathways for field trips.
At BU, Rosario points to a slew of theme nights and events that he says have strengthened bonds with students, like an “Iron Chef” competition, chef visits and an annual lobster night in which Dining Services sources 8,000 local lobsters and all the traditional New England lobster bake specialties. Last spring, the dining hall hosted a ’90s-themed meal, which brought a 10% bump in participation.