By David Robison
Contributing Writer
Dining decisions at Wingate University are made by several people and groups, with student feedback playing a major role, according W.T. Harris Dining Hall General Manager Rob Jansen of Bon Appétit, Wingate’s primary food-service provider.
Some factors influencing what items are served include nutrition, student preference, popularity of items, seasonality, dietary needs and restrictions of certain students, cost and availability of ingredients, plus the efficiency of the production of potential menu items.
Jansen said Bon Appétit attempts to achieve “a balance of what students want with what can be executed consistently and responsibly.”
Student input is also very important to Bon Appétit. Jansen said what students prefer is a major factor in determining what is served. There are feedback cards for written comments and a QR code that students can scan to ask questions such as when a certain dish might return to the menu and provide positive and negative feedback.
One example of student feedback having an impact on the menu occurred last year when a group of international students on the soccer team spoke directly to Jansen about the lack of Mediterranean foods. This prompted the team to arrange for an octopus pasta recipe to be served one night, when more than 300 pounds of pasta were served.
Bon Appétit is now in its second year of managing campus dining at Wingate. Jansen said the company is committed to building a strong community and bond with the students at Wingate and that student feedback is always welcome.
Jansen said “student feedback is worth it” and is “necessary” to build a strong relationship with Bon Appétit’s customers.
Jansen said Bon Appétit has to balance feedback with action because if only one student vaguely requests an item, it might not be worth the cost of ingredients if only a few students eat the requested item. Jansen said it is an entirely different story if 20 students come to him requesting a specific item, as the number of inquiries and the detail of those suggestions are the most important factor in considering student requests.
Mike Moroni, the regional manager of Bon Appétit, said that an important company policy is to avoid fatigue and give the chefs freedom to alter menus weekly based on feedback from the campus community. A good example of this policy in action is “Fried Chicken Wednesdays,” which has been a popular addition to the weekly fare.
The people and groups involved in making these decisions are the culinary and management teams, ranging from chefs who are involved in everyday cooking activities to managers such as Jansen, who are not directly involved in cooking but still impact the process in other ways. Also, Wingate University leadership and high-ranking staff, as well as the Student Government Association (SGA) at Wingate, contribute to dining decisions.
Some requests are more difficult to adhere to than others. Dietary concerns play a factor because Bon Appétit does not serve any items with nuts as ingredients due to the number of students with nut allergies.
