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2013
VOL 4
EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE
EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE CELEBRATING THE BOUNTY GROWING ALL AROUND US PAGE 4
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
BRAVO IS THE ALMOST QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF
BON APPÉTIT MANAGEMENT COMPANY |
A Member of the Compass Group
100 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 400 Palo Alto, California 94301 650-798-8000 www.bamco.com
In Praise of Peachfest
LEARN HOW FOOD CHOICES AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY,
PAGE 42
PAGE 54
What We Can Learn from Millennials
AND YOUR WELL-BEING AT www.eatlowcarbon.org
Executive Chef Derek Roy harvests onions from the Hamilton College garden PAGE 7
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INDEX Adobe - San Jose 59 Art Institute of Chicago 16, 58, 72-73 BD Biosciences 71 Best Buy 6 Biola University 65 Carleton College 19 Case Western Reserve University 8 Chandler Café 57 Claremont McKenna College 89 Cleveland Museum of Art 69 College of Idaho 23, 69 Colorado College 8 Denison University 29, 86 DreamWorks Animation 48 eBay 74 Eckerd College 89 Electronic Arts 81 Flextronics 59 Folsom Café 59, 91 Gallaudet University 23 Google - Mountain View 60-61, 71 Grand Central Café 58 Hamilton College 7 Hill Country Café 39 Institute for American Indian Arts 91 Johns Hopkins University 29, 78 Lafayette College 87 Lewis & Clark College 24, 90 LinkedIn 81 Macalester College 77 Market Café and Wine Bar 86 Marymount California University 94 McMaster-Carr Supply 18 Medtronic 56 Mount St. Mary’s College 83 Musical Instrument Museum 22 Oberlin College 17, 35, 93
Oracle - Denver 17, 87 Oregon Episcopal School 91 RA1 Café 50 RA3 Café 59 Regis University 90 Rio Rancho 7 Café 53 Roger Williams University 14, 79, 89 RS5 Café 59 Saint Louis Art Museum 12-13, 51 Saint Louis University School of Law 79 San Francisco 49ers 86 Santa Clara University 59 SAP 36-37, 80 SAS 17, 58, 70 Savannah College of Art and Design 15 Seattle Art Museum 62-63, 88 Soka University 85 Sony Playstation 80 St. Edward’s University 9, 28, 56, 88 St. Mary’s College of Maryland 74 Target 34, 68 Trine University 64 Tropicana Gardens 70 Twitter 80, 87 University of Pennsylvania 33, 40-41, 46-47, 53, 82, 93 University of Portland 26-27, 82, 92 University of Redlands 20-21, 76 University of Saint Joseph 18 University of the Pacific 52 VMware 57 Washington University 38-39, 56, 66 Wheaton College 84 Whittier College 75 Yahoo! 80
BRAVO WAS PRINTED ON PAPER MADE FROM
100%
RECYCLED FIBER INCLUDING
THIS SAVED...
43 fully grown trees 19,857 gallons water 19 million BTUs energy 1,329 pounds solid waste 3,661 pounds greenhouse gases
57%
POST- CONSUMER WASTE .
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highlights | 2013
VOL 4
IN THIS ISSUE
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From Fedele FEDELE BAUCCIO
MAISIE GANZLER
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Events...in Brief Openings & Makeovers Johns Hopkins, the Docket, Hawk’s Deli at Roger Williams University, and more
An Operator’s View MICHAEL BAUCCIO
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Honors & Awards
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Peachfest Celebrating the bounty of summer with a fruit everybody loves ALLISON AMATO & NORRIS MEI
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Back to School with Bon Appétit Bon Appétit education teams offered hands-on education and team-building activities, plus new programs to delight students
Bon Appétiters recognized by the communities they serve
THOM FOX
Behind the Communications Curtain
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The meaning of good service
A Cross-Country Culinary Tour Our ELC menu reviewer shares some of the standouts along with the micro-trends he saw
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Talking about Food What we can learn from Millennials
Bon Appétit teams around the country made a 100% local meal, celebrated their local farmers, and showed guests how they too can “go local”
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42
On finding inspiration in Italy
Eat Local Challenge 2013
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20
From the Fellows
Why we love local
Reintegrating values back into the food industry
BONNIE AZAB POWELL
ALYSE FESTENSTEIN
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Thank You, Bon Appétit! The Back Page Marymount California University gets a garden with a view
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The displays of panini, gelato, and produce made you want to buy everything in the mercato. I found a small store on a narrow street that served the most incredible porchetta sandwiches with arugula and a splash of olive oil. That was the whole menu, but they did them perfectly.
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from fedele
Finding Inspiration in Italy
I
just returned from Florence, Italy, one of my favorite cities. The food was amazing and inspired me with the love and passion of the Italian culture. The use of simple ingredients, just a few items in each recipe. Nothing terribly complicated. Flavors that burst with the love and passion of their maker. So seasonal, so authentic, so real. It’s a culture where food is incredibly important. Where food is about sharing, not just with family but building friendships with strangers to experience the love and caring that food brings to the table. I have always said that if we source the very best ingredients, we don’t have to do a lot to make great food. Italy has reminded me to keep it all simple, and the food will speak to you with love.
My friend Mario and I cooked together. What a wonderful way to share an afternoon.
We made fresh pasta with just two ingredients, flour and eggs. The sauce: porcini mushrooms with shallots, garlic, and white wine. I learned to use dried mushrooms along with the fresh. We soaked the dried porcinis in water and then thinned the sauce with the brown, mushroomy liquid. Rich and earthy!
This is a Florentine soup I made called pappa al pomodoro, with fresh tomatoes, leftover bread (nothing goes to waste), olive oil, and vegetable stock.
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hen Bon Appétit Management Company launched our first Eat Local Challenge in 2005, what seems like eons ago, the idea of caring about “local food” was a novelty, not a national movement. Though the word “locavore” is now in the standard American diet of conversation, using the word then would have people looking at you like you were, well, loco. Michael Pollan’s hugely influential book The Omnivore’s Dilemma was still a year away from publication. Bon Appétit was the only food service provider in the industry serving local food in our cafés on a regular basis.
W
By asking our chefs around the country to serve a 100% locally sourced meal for Eat Local Challenge Day, we thought we’d be highlighting how many varieties of food were disappearing regionally. Instead, we found the opposite: An amazing bounty of everything is being grown in most places; it just takes a little looking around. Nine years later, the local food movement has really taken off. There are now 80% more farmers’ markets around America — and that’s a good thing. American Farmland Trust estimates that in general, of every $10 spent on food, only $1.58 gets back to the farmers and ranchers who grew it; marketers, processors, wholesalers, and distributors take the rest. By buying directly from local farms, Bon Appétit has played a vital role in the communities in which we operate. Through the tens of millions of dollars we spend annually through our Farm to Fork program, we are proud to have helped these small producers not only stay in business, but also flourish. Although Bon Appétit buys directly from small, local farmers all year, Eat Local Challenge is the day that we make a point of celebrating them and the food they grow. This year, we shared tips with our guests on how they could join us in “going local”: lists of locally produced foods, like fruit and eggs, that are easy to find, as well as locally available substitutions for items that might be difficult, such as olive oil and sugar. Read on for how Bon Appétit teams around the country celebrated Eat Local Challenge (ELC) Day... 2 0 1 3 Vo l u m e 4
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...at Best Buy, Richfield, MN
A farming state, Minnesota has no shortage of Farm to Fork suppliers, and the Bon Appétit team at Best Buy headquarters near Minneapolis loves working with them. In fact, Executive Chef Donald Selmer and Sous Chef Brenda Boehm are proud that 27 percent of Best Buy’s purchases so far this year have been Farm to Fork. This ELC Day rolled around following recent changes on the Best Buy campus that had resulted in many new faces, and Brenda and Donald decided to use ELC Day as a way to let those new Best Buy employees know who Bon Appétit is and what we care about — and that our practice of “eating local” is a longstanding one.
Todd Churchill, owner of Thousand Hills Cattle Company, with the rib-eye special
They invited three local farmers to come speak about their farms and products, including grass-fed beef rancher Todd Churchill from Thousand Hills Cattle Company, hog farmer Eric Klein from Hidden Stream Farm, and turkey rancher John Peterson from Ferndale Market. In addition, they featured ingredients from Hastings Dairy, Big River Farms, Eichten’s Hidden Acres, Anderson’s Maple Syrup, and Hillside Organics, as well as vegetables bought at the Amish Auction in St. Charles, MN. Eat Local Challenge also coincided neatly with the farmers’ market held on the Best Buy campus every Tuesday during harvest season. Run in partnership with Sheila Stanton, the farmers’ market consists of 12 to 15 local farmers and artisans who sell fruits, vegetables, flowers, honey, cheeses, and baked goods. Cook Eric Guggemos grilled locally produced burgers and brats to add aroma and ambiance to the festivities. Inside, the team showcased local products at every station. ELC Day highlights included a Thousand Hills grass-fed rib-eye at the specialty station, Hidden Stream Farm honey-glazed ham at John Peterson from Ferndale Market, Executive Chef Donald Selmer, and Eric Klein from Hidden Stream Farm
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Sous Chef Brenda Boehm with a large salad topped with honey-glazed Hidden Stream Farm ham
the salad station, and butter-roasted Ferndale Market turkey. Sales soared, along with the spirits of those enjoying an incredibly successful challenge day. Submitted by Paul Adams, General Manager
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…at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
The Hamilton College team looks forward so much to Eat Local Challenge Day that this year they went big and hosted an all-local picnic for the entire Hamilton community. They were able to close all other cafés, so that the whole staff could join the community for an incredible lunch on a beautiful fall day. The courtyard at Hamilton was transformed into a country fair, complete with a wagon and a jug band. Derek Roy, Hamilton’s new executive chef (who moved over from University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT), created a menu that included roasted pork loin with a mapleapple glaze, garlic chicken (smoked with local Applewood), sautéed Swiss chard (from the Hamilton garden), freshpressed New York grape juice, salt potatoes, honeyed blueberries with Greek yogurt, and many local cheeses. Derek even sourced local salt! Many local farmers and volunteers from the campus farm were present to speak with students about all the benefits of purchasing and eating locally.
Bringing out the chalkboard love and skills for Eat Local Challenge
everything else. Especially enjoyed the squash and green beans, and the honeyed raspberries were awesome. Loved the tablecloths on the ground to give it that picnic feel. It was a great menu and the presentation was beautiful. Hated to come back to the office.” Submitted by Patrick Raynard, General Manager
Two local television news outlets covered the event, which also received rave reviews from the campus newspaper and from Hamilton staff. “Today’s Eat Local Food Challenge was the best one yet,” wrote Hamilton’s Director of Auxiliary Services Irene Cornish. “The pork was incredible and so was
A truckload of Farm to Fork apples from North Star Orchards in Westmoreland, NY
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...at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO ...at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland
The excitement level was at an all-time high for Colorado College’s sixth Eat Local Challenge Day — in part because the students helped grow some of the food. The menu featured 14 different local farmers and a salad bar entirely provided by the Colorado College Student Garden. Executive Chef Ed Clark and Executive Sous Chef John Faulkner offered students, faculty, and staff a bountiful array of 100 percent local dishes, showcasing the best of the Arkansas River Valley harvests. The students were so excited about the event that they passed around a sheet of loose-leaf paper asking fellow classmates to express their thoughts and opinions on the meal. Many said it was “the best meal they have ever eaten at the Rastall Café.”
Although the one exception to “local” for Eat Local Challenge Day is salt, some accounts go the extra mile to find local salt as well. In the case of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, the team didn’t have to search very far at all. Located just 45 miles away in Rittman, OH, are the underground mines for Morton Salt, allowing every Bon Appétit account in Ohio to use local salt in their meals — including in the cool localpickle bar! Submitted by Beth Kretschmar, Marketing Manager
Submitted by Derek Hanson, Director of Operations
House-made pickle bar at Fribley Café
Fribley Café’s magnificent display table overflowing with local produce Colorado College students profess their love for their school’s local food
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St. Edward’s Menu Smoked Richardson Farms Pork Shoulder | braised in Becker Vineyard cabernet, Good Flow honey, and Hill Country olive oil Richardson Farms Turkey and Pork Meatloaf | with Pedernales Valley Farms tomato and Good Flow honey glaze …at St. Edward’s University, Austin, TX
It’s getting near the end of the season in hot Austin, TX, but that didn’t stop Executive Chef Elvin Lubrin from going 100% local at St. Edward’s South Congress Market [see menu]. And he sold out of almost everything! Additionally, Katie Kraemer Pitre, owner of Tecolote Farms and a friend of Bon Appétit — stopped by to join in the ELC fun — and sample some tasty food made with her very own produce. Submitted by Clifton Clehouse, Director of Operations
Johnson’s Backyard Garden Roasted Sweet Potatoes | with San Saba pecans and Good Flow honey Vital Farms Frittata | with Tecolote Farms basil, Kitchen Pride mushrooms, Pedernales Valley tomatoes, and Tecolote sweet peppers Tecolote Cucamelon Salad | with Johnson’s Backyard Garden arugula, Pedernales Valley tomatoes, and Pure Luck goat cheese dressing Texas Grilled Vegetable Platter | with Tecolote round Italian eggplant, sweet peppers, and okra; Johnson’s Backyard Garden zucchini and yellow squash; and Kitchen Pride portabello mushrooms Dilorio Farms Watermelon Salad Braised Johnson’s Backyard Garden Dino Kale | with Louisiana shallots Stewed Tecolote Okra and Pedernales Valley Tomatoes
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Executive Chef Elvin Lubrin and Katie Kraemer Pitre, owner of Tecolote Farms
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A Cross-Country Culinary Tour Submitted by Thom Fox, ENI Culinary Facilitator
Editor’s Note: For the third year in a row, ENI Culinary Facilitator Thom Fox was tasked with reviewing every single one of the hundreds of Eat Local Challenge menus submitted in the week before the big day. His duty: to look for and flag any suspect ingredients that might not be 100% local. His delight: to experience vicariously the amazing variety of American foods in the 32 states in which Bon Appétit operates. We asked him to share some of the standouts, along with the micro-trends he saw.
A
s a chef, the immersion into the world of our Eat Local Challenge menus allows me to geek out on the nuance and breadth of ingredients, as well as the ingenuity of our Bon Appétit chefs. The ingredients speak volumes about flavor and seasonality. From café to café, each menu reflects the flavors and traditions of cooking and eating in that region.
Chanterelles? Gotta be the Pacific Northwest. Nopales and chilis? They’re in Texas and other Southwestern accounts for sure. Maple, clams, and apples? I smell the cider and see the leaves getting ready to change color in the Northeast. A turn in the South takes us to Averett University in Danville, VA, and a delicious-sounding blueberry and muscadine cooler and creamy Virginia peanut soup (using local flour from Lindley Mills in Graham, NC, as a thickener). Or in Southern California at the University of Redlands in Redlands: grilled queso fresco casero with red pepper coulis, roasted carrots, and cranberry and lima beans (a local small dairy provides the milk for the cheese). At times, as in years past, there was some back and forth about an ingredient’s origin. For me, as a chef, I see this as a superb learning moment. The dialogue leads to other dialogues. I question an ingredient. Digging into it, the chef poses a question to a representative of the company. Hopefully the answers are the right ones. Most importantly of all, we ask the hard questions. And we discover what local is. Dairy, flour in a favorite bakery’s bread or pastries, tofu and the soybeans that make it. That favorite sausage maker or cured meat? Where did those spices come from, anyway? To say nothing of the casing holding it together. A vegetable oil
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might be pressed in the next town, but where were the seeds grown? As always, the chef and I will work together to find out the whats and wheres. From that a clearer picture of our Eat Local Challenge appears. OGLING THE ORACLE AND OHIO MENUS
I loved seeing how menus from each account in each region united what the land produces, the people who farm there, and the chef ’s own interests to feed the guests in our cafés. A special shout-out to the Café 600 team at Oracle in Redwood Shores, CA: Sous Chef Shubash Khanal tapped local sources and his personal culinary heritage to menu spicy ginger-and-chili goat curry with black-eyed peas and spinach, cucumber, and tomato salad with paneer made with local dairy milk. (Ginger, garlic, chilis, and curry leaf can be had locally in the Bay Area.) Then he took the challenge one step further and created a lassi using local fruit, yogurt, honey, and herbs. You go, chef! If I were asked to name one area that really shone this year, it would be Ohio. The Bon Appétit teams at Case Western Reserve University, Oberlin College, Otterbein University, Denison University, State Auto Insurance, Provenance at the
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like the late summer berries with honey shortcake biscuits at University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT.
Not only do they work with local farmers and orchards to source the vegetables and fruits they serve, they’ve added to the mix flours and grains for their pizzas sourced from Stutzman Farms in Millersberg, OH; tomatoes for pizza and marinara sauces coming from Dei Fratelli Farm near Akron (harvested and canned by a co-packer for use throughout the year). Local farmer Bowman and Landes supplied turkeys, and the Lorain County Junior Fair Auction provided beef for their ELC menus this year. Our Oberlin team successfully bid for two steers raised by children of local farmers and ranchers as part of the 4-H program (see Thank Yous, page 86). Could this be an ELC dream come true? The resourcefulness of our chefs stuns at times.
And how’s this for a treat that’s on the menu every day, not just ELC Day? A piece of whole honeycomb with fresh and dried fruits and locally made yogurt at the Exploratorium in San Francisco.
And speaking of resourcefulness, the Google - Mountain View team not only sourced local salmon from the Friendship sailing out of Bodega Bay, but paired it with sea grape seaweed. WHEN IT GRAINS, IT FLOURS
In years past it has been difficult to keep pizza a part of our ELC menus. This year I can say we’ve met this challenge. Small and medium-size farms have discovered methods of getting their grains to millers or milling it themselves — and our chefs can support their efforts. At RNB Café, Executive Chef Ryan Smith and Chef de Cuisine Brian Anderson menu’d a sourdough pizza using locally grown and milled flours, house-made sourdough starter, then Maywood Farms Mission figs, caramelized yellow onions, Timptations Farms wild arugula, and Sparrow Lane balsamic reduction. And at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, Executive Chef Jim Cooley sourced local flour for an herb chapatti to accompany a griddled beef sandwich with Cougar Gold cheese and green chili and melon chutney. At eBay in San Jose, CA, Executive Chef Bob Clark blended up an horchata with California rice flour. OIL AND HONEY
If there was one overarching menu trend, it was local honey. Few foods really express a sense of place as strongly as this food flavored with the fruits and flowers in an area. Creatively applied in so many dishes, sweet and savory, it seemed to make an appearance on nearly every menu. Examples: Executive Chef Derek Roy’s roasted Mandeville Farms acorn squash with honey at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY, and down at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX, Executive Chef Elvin Lubrin smoked and braised a pork shoulder in cabernet with Good Flow honey glaze. Some cafés included local honey in refreshing seasonal fruit beverages, using the complex sweetness to brighten the flavors. Not surprisingly, local honey was a key ingredient in desserts
EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE 2013
Cleveland Museum of Art, and others really impressed me with how they make the best use of their foodshed resources in general, and their Eat Local Challenge menus truly underscored this.
My research suggests that Honeycomb served at the much of this trend is driven by Exploratorium in San Francisco the ever-increasing awareness of pollinators and their role in our food system. Certainly this has opened up new trails to local beekeepers and honey. What a great thing that our chefs and kitchens are part of the movement to shore up this critical link in our food web. Similarly, I am seeing our chefs successfully connecting with locally farmed and produced oil in many regions. New technologies, investments, interest, and demand have borne results. Several sunflower oil sources in New York, Ohio, Idaho, and Wisconsin have appeared, as well as olive oil producers in unusual areas like the Southwest, the Northwest, and Texas. Grapeseed production in some grapegrowing areas keep this possibility looking better each year. Executive Chef Bryan Hulihee at Ocotillo 8 Café grilled nopales with arugula, tomatillos, corn, and prickly pear vinaigrette using Queen Creek Olive Mill oil, for example. Another personal favorite were the cheese curds that made appearances on several menus, such as those for Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, or the Blue Jacket Dairy cheese curds at State Auto Insurance in Columbus, OH. Several cafés even brought foraged salt onto the menu, from evaporated sea water to salt mined in the mountains near Glendale, AZ, or in Ohio. Huzzah, all!
Salt sourced from a local mine in Glendale, AZ, and delivered by Hayden Flour Mills to Café Allegro at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix Photo credit: Lauren Potter, floor supervisor
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Cook Duane Corrigan, Sous Chef Colby Walloch, and Colby’s daughters, Mia and Lily
...at the Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis
At the newly opened restaurant and café at the Saint Louis Art Museum, almost everyone is new to Bon Appétit, except Executive Chef Edward Farrow, a veteran of Bon Appétit’s Allegro Café at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. So some education for the team and staff in advance of ELC Day was paramount. Deciding what to do was easy: a field trip! Visiting nearby farms and partners not only solidifies relationships with them, but also helps team build among staff — so off to nearby fields and pastures they went. The team toured Peter Whisnant’s Rain Crow Ranch, a fantastic grass-fed beef program about 90 minutes south of St. Louis. They also visited Clair Rudolph of Double Star Farms across the mighty Mississippi in Mt. Vernon, IL. The passionate fourth-generation family farmer led staff through his greenhouse, fields, and orchards, as well as onto a neighboring farm. The farm visits enabled the team to put inspiration into motion, developing a five-course prix fixe menu containing 100% local ingredients. Also available were beverage pairings from local vintners and a brewery. The team camaraderie was palpable, but more importantly, the education mission was accomplished. Guests were delighted. In the equally significant but more casual café, local choices for the soup, sandwich, and salad carried on the mantra of
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Happy guests felt good about what they were purchasing, consuming, and most importantly, enjoying. The café was busier than expected, which allowed the team to please and communicate with more guests. Thanks to the entire team, the first SLAM Eat Local Challenge was a huge success in both eateries. As the seasonal items change, so will the menu, and that is what makes working for this company so great: Seasonal. Sustainable. Reliable. Submitted by Edward Farrow, General Manager/Executive Chef, and Candice Sheppard-Sanders, Pastry Chef
PANORAMA AT SLAM’S MENU:
An Ode to the Mississippi River Valley Melon, Bacon, Nuts Double Star Farms watermelon carpaccio, sorghumchipotle-candied Geisert Farms jowl bacon, Missouri walnut “dust” Apples, Cheese Grilled apples, Heartland Creamery cave-aged goat cheddar, cider reduction, herbs Chicken, Green Tomatoes, Potatoes Breast of Clair’s chicken, green tomato agrodolce, Yukon Gold potatoes, winter squash Maple, Pie, Cream Butternut squash–pecan pie, whipped honey cream, maple-sage drizzle
Tim Hess from Silent Oak Farm showing the Panorama staff his arugula
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the Eat Local Challenge. The creamy bacon and potato soup was thickened with a roux made from Missouri whole-wheat pastry flour. The sandwich special on local sourdough bread from Companion contained Rain Crow Ranch braised roast beef and Prairie Breeze cheese, served au jus French dip style. The “Summer-sault into Fall” salad was sourced 100 percent from Double Star Farms, except the Saint James Winery red wine vinaigrette.
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...at Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI
Mother Nature must love Eat Local Challenge Day, because year after year, Roger Williams University enjoys the most beautiful fall New England days for the event. During September and October, the school celebrates the harvest season with weekly Friday farmers’ markets, which expands especially for Eat Local Challenge Day. The quad is adorned with an array of beautiful produce, cheeses, eggs, beef, yogurt, popping corn, herbs, breads, and more. Some Farm to Fork partners visit to share their specialties with the RWU community and talk about the importance of buying local and their personal journeys to produce food. The day was full of pros and partners doing what they do best: Hard Pressed Cider reps turned local apples from Horse Listeners Orchard into a delicious fall beverage; guests practically inhaled oysters on the half shell from Poppasquash Oysters; grass-fed beef skewers from New England Grass Fed were flash grilled; an all-local New England clam chowder was topped with locally caught tautog fish; overflowing loaves of bread were screaming to be tasted from Provencal Bakery; a new line of cheese from Rhody Fresh was being sampled; and Aquidneck Honey tested the taste buds of our guests with a special hot (as in spicy) honey.
Menu Braised Blackbird Farm Pork and Kenyon’s Cornmeal Johnnycakes Traditional Clam Boil | with Foley Fish clams, Blackbird Farm chourico, Confreda Farms corn, Four Town Farm scallions, and Maplewood Farm potatoes served in boil bags Marinated and Grilled Late-Summer Squash and Zucchini from Confreda Farms and Langwater Farm Leeks Autumn Vegetable Hash | with fall squashes, carrots, and sweet potatoes from Schartner Farms Four Town Farm Sautéed Green Beans | with Confreda Farms cherry tomatoes New England Grass-Fed Kielbasa, Langwater Farm Kale, and Narragansett Creamery Cheese Pizza Local Bites Tasting Table | with Narragansett Creamery cheeses, Provencal Bakery baguettes, Horse Listeners Orchard sliced apples, Langwater Farm roasted beets, Aquidneck honey, and Allens Farm pea greens
This year’s ELC Day represented the turning of time with some significant staff changes. Though RWU lost much-loved Executive Chef Bob Lavoie to Bon Appétit’s new account at Johns Hopkins University and its sous chef to retail operations, it gained some seasoned pros as well — former Hamilton College Executive Chef Reuben Haag Rob Swanson from Hard Pressed and Chef de Cuisine Jon Cambra, Cider serving freshly pressed a Bristol born-and-raised local cider to students with a plethora of executive chef gigs under his whites. Both chefs have an extreme passion for local sourcing and for supporting the regional community. Jon has deep roots with the area’s farmers, fishermen, and artisans. With such fervor for educating about the importance of eating locally grown foods, both chefs spent the afternoon outside chatting with visitors about the farms, what they specialize in, and why they (and all of our truly local purveyors) are important. Inside, guests were treated to an appetizing Rhode Island–centric lunch. It was a greatly successful event, celebrating local partners and educating Roger Williams University guests about how they can bring the lessons home into their everyday lives. Submitted by Stephanie Keith, Marketing Manager/Controller A farmers’ market stand showcasing the incredible local bounty
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...at Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
Executive Chef Emanuel May and the rest of the Bon Appétit at Savannah College of Art and Design team celebrated SCAD’s second ELC Day with some local farming friends: Ben Deen of Savannah River Farms and Stanley Gruber of Gruber Farms were on hand at the Hive to meet a reporter and to speak with students about their natural farming practices and their products. Pork from Savannah River Farms and fruits and vegetables from Gruber Farms took center stage in the ELC menus from Emanuel and Executive Sous Chef Joseph Cretella, which included muscadine-glazed Savannah River Farms pork loin with Gruber Farms roasted asparagus, Sapelo Island clams with Savannah River Farms Andouille sausage, and Gruber Farms rosemary-roasted red potatoes and roasted yellow zucchini. Taking the prize for the most popular item of the Eat Local Challenge was unquestionably the 100-percent-local cream puffs! The airy pastries were created with flour from Freeman’s Mill, cream from Swiss Dairy Farms, and local honey from Readees Bees Wildflower Honey. They were enjoyed by all and were a sweet end to an exciting day.
At lunch Tuesday at the Hive cafeteria, SCAD freshman Hannah Allred had made a longer journey to get to Savannah than did all the food on her plate. Allred is an equestrian studies major from Tampa. The pork loin and veggies she was happily munching were all sourced within 150 miles of Savannah as part of an Eat Local Challenge. “I want to know where my food comes from,” said Allred. “And locally based is helping local farmers.” — Savannah Morning News
Submitted by Heather Carbone, Marketing Manager
Local farmer Ben Deen of Savannah River Farms and Executive Chef Emanuel May
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...at Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
The team at the Art Institute of Chicago relishes making an artful affair, and Eat Local Challenge Day was no exception, with a gorgeous display table showcasing the bounty of local farms. General Manager Joe Malone put together the beautiful display, which highlighted Farm to Fork partner Nichols Farm and Orchard from Marengo, IL. Nichols is the largest local organic farm growing the widest range of fruits and vegetables. Farm representatives Ian McCartny and Jeff Trap stopped by the Museum Café, which featured plenty of ELC options. For an entrée, guests could choose a Twin Oaks Meat pork loin or Gunthorp Farms chicken, along with a choice of sides from Nichols Farm: roasted carrots, Brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes, or corn on the cob. Other café options included a local Wisconsin cheese plate with jam made from Nichols Farm blueberries, creamed Yukon Gold potato soup, and Gunthorp Farms chicken or pork belly skewers. Even the aguas frescas were made with Nichols Farm watermelon and basil. The Nichols Farm theme continued in Terzo Piano, where the annual Eat Local Challenge prix fixe lunch was a hit. Diners started out with tomato soup, followed by Miller’s crispy chicken and Nichols Farm cauliflower puree and cider-braised cabbage. A house-made gingerbasil soda rounded out the meal. The Eat Local Challenge is always a welcome opportunity to educate guests about where their food comes from and to strengthen existing relationships with local farmers.
Museum Café Manager Desmond Risper with Nichols Farm representatives Ian McCartny and Jeff Trap
Submitted by Jennifer McDonald, Marketing Manager
Museum Café Cooks Patric Cassarez and Ernesto Munoz and the dish they created
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“I think it helps to sustain the economy in which you work in. I think it’s putting dollars back into the community, and then you’re creating that relationship (with local farmers) for good food,” said Rick Panfil, general manager. — Chronicle-Telegram
Students, staff, and even a reporter enjoyed local bison at Oberlin College for this year’s ELC Day. Chef/Manager Kevin Chaney and regional forager John Klancar made it their personal challenge to source new products outside of existing Farm to Fork vendors. Whitefeather Meats raised and also slaughtered the bison, just 35 miles from Oberlin College. The meat was ground and prepared into a Salisbury steak, topped with Yellow House sheep’s milk blue cheese (from just 35 miles away in Seville) demiglace made with Valley City Fungi wild mushrooms (18 miles from the college) and bison bones, and spicy arugula from Medina Aquaponics (25 miles away). Smashed red potatoes, roasted root vegetables, and plum agua fresca — all grown at the college-owned George Jones Farm — accompanied the divine main course. Topping all of that off was the alllocal mixed berry crisp. This treat featured granola, honey, maple syrup, and berries that were flash-frozen at Toledo’s Center for Innovative Food Technology. The meal impressed the reporter, who published the story the next morning.
...at SAS, Cary, NC
Submitted by Eric Pecherkiewicz, Marketing Manager/ Registered Dietitian
Guest interaction and involvement were what really made SAS’s Eat Local Challenge Day the sweetest. They got to shop at a farmers’ market set up especially for them, as well as chat with the special vendor on hand, Eastern Carolina Organics, at a table that included a map of local farmers, as well as handouts to address frequently asked questions. The Marketplace Café was a feast for all the senses. The Chef ’s Table, Entrée, and Kettles stations had 100% local menus. Rounding out the local offerings were aguas frescas made from the hyperlocal SAS Farm’s watermelon and the Marketplace Café’s lemon verbena. As guests descended the stairs to the entrance of the Marketplace Café, their eyes landed first on the farmers’ market. Two tables displayed varieties of fresh, local produce available to the customers. All of the produce had been farmed within 60 miles of the Marketplace Café at SAS. Items such as yellow corn, zucchini, tomatoes, and squash came from Lyon Farms just 30 miles away. Beautiful Brinkley Farms bell peppers and M&M Plant Farms eggplant added more color and variety. Overall, the guests were very involved. They swarmed the tables taking pictures, asking questions, learning, and buying produce. The Bon Appétit staff enjoyed explaining how the Eat Local Challenge may be only one day a year, but providing local ingredients and supporting local farms is an ideal that they incorporate into everyday food preparation and weekly menu planning. The staff takes pride in their work, their company, and the beliefs and standards it upholds.
...AT ORACLE - DENVER: Blue
Sky Café regularly serves lunch that features produce picked and delivered the same morning from Table Mountain Farms, a site located a mile away that’s managed by Agriburbia, a company that leases land in urban areas or empty lots to grow produce for profit. Eat Local Challenge was the perfect time to invite Agriburbia to do a farmers’ market at the café so that guests could learn more about what’s being grown nearby. Submitted by Phillip Byrne, Chef/Manager
Submitted by Aubrey White, Marketing Admin/Cashier
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...at University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, CT
Student helper Kyla Anderson gathering herbs from the campus garden
New Executive Chef Chris Parrott’s first Eat Local Challenge was the most successful one yet. The menu included Northeast Family Farms roast pork sirloin with maple drizzle, apple sauce, sautéed collard greens, and Yukon Gold mashed potatoes; a vegetarian stuffed Carnival acorn squash with native honey, goat cheese, and blueberries; and little neck clams with Ten Penny Ale, butter, and parsley. The students, faculty, and staff raved about the apple galette with maple crème fraîche and really, all the items’ flavors, presentation, and freshness. ...at McMaster-Carr Supply, Atlanta Submitted by Peggy Gadomski, Director of Operations
To drum up interest and anticipation for McMasterCarr Supply’s Eat Local Challenge Day, Bon Appétit held a“teaser” farmers’ market the week before. Operated by Neil Taylor of TaylOrganic farm, one of the local farmers who was excited to educate guests about how he grows his produce, the market featured a host of local produce from TaylOrganic, Heritage Organic Farms, and Back River Farm. Neil was sure to spread the word about the following week’s Eat Local Challenge, which would include items from his farm and several others. Thanks to the buildup, guests were beyond excited to taste the food on ELC Day, especially the grilled chicken breast with tomato and oyster mushroom ragoût. The excitement was driven in part by knowing who grew the food they were eating for lunch and from seeing some of the items in their“raw” state — exactly why Bon Appétit celebrates this day year after year. Submitted by Clinette Eley, General Manager
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EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE 2013
...at Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Steven Read, owner of Shepherd’s Way Farms, talking to a Carleton student
The menus for Carleton College’s Eat Local Challenge Day this year were a veritable who’s who of local farms. Take, for instance, the locally made gnocchi served with Seeds Farm marinara or Hastings Co-op Creamery alfredo. Or Laughing Loon Farm eggplant Parmesan with Shepherd’s Way friesago cheese. Or Market Deli’s local trout with Shepherd’s Way blue cheese, Future Farms Bibb lettuce, and Seeds Farm heirloom tomatoes tossed with local camelina oil. Executive Chef Michael Delcambre, along with Sous Chef Gibson Price and Sous Chef Vale Riggs, pulled out all the stops and featured all-local dishes at several stations. Representatives from Seeds Farm, Carleton Farm, Ferndale Market, Shepherd’s Way, and Mixmi were on hand to meet with students and offer samples. Midwest Fellow Alyse Festenstein, who helped update the farmer bios to display at the different stations, was excited to see many students actually reading them! She also chatted with several visiting farmers, and all were very appreciative of Bon Appétit’s support. Becca Carlson of Seeds Farm emphasized that the farm wouldn’t be there without Bon Appétit. Whether it was the free samples or interest alone, students interacted with farmers more than in prior years. The staff was thrilled to see this increase in awareness and participation.
Midwest Fellow Alyse Festenstein, mother and daughter Sharon Hampeys and Kristen Harlander of Mixmi, and General Manager Katie McKenna
Submitted by Katie McKenna, General Manager, and Alyse Festenstein, Midwest Fellow
In the extremely competitive business culture that exists in the United States, more often than not in business relationships, one company ends up getting the short end of the stick. But in Northfield, when it comes to the partnership between St. Olaf and Carleton Colleges’ food provider Bon Appétit and local farmers, everybody wins. — Northfield News
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Executive Chef Marc Powers showing off his catch of the day: yellowtail from Ensenada, Mexico
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EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE 2013
Citrus-marinated yellowtail with melted tomato and fava bean salad
...at University of Redlands, Redlands, CA
The search for local beef has been a challenge in the past for Bon Appétit at the University of Redlands in Southern California. But over the course of this year, a sixth-generation ranching family called Homegrown Meats has emerged as a great source for local beef, and Executive Chef Marc Powers was sure to give it a starring role. Homegrown is a Farm to Fork–approved vendor with a Global Animal Partnership Step Four rating located in Northeast San Diego County. Its pasture-raised beef was incorporated into the 100% local Irvine Commons menu. A favorite was the Classics station version: Marc smoked Homegrown brisket and served it with sweet potatoes, Swiss chard, green beans, and buttermilk potato salad.
Honey and raisins in baked apples and poached pear in honey and Joseph Filippi red wine reduction
Marc’s enthusiasm over the yellowtail (caught in Ensenada, Mexico) inspired the Mundo Latino choice of yellowtail adobo with garlic, campus-grown cilantro, OC Produce cranberry beans, roasted tomato, grilled white corn, and pastel de papas con espinaca (potato and spinach pie) with traditional garnishes. Other satisfying dishes included honey-orange calamari, stir-fried in mushroom-scallion broth with local farmer vegetables; grilled house-made queso fresco casero with red pepper coulis; and a salad of sautéed kale with roasted beets.
adding to the impossible decision of choosing an entrée in the café. Guests could choose two of the three following mini-plates: Homegrown beef with Joseph Filippi red wine reduction and grilled apple and potato salad; citrus-marinated yellowtail with a melted tomato and fava bean salad; and herb-crusted kabocha squash with Unity Farms curly leaf spinach.
With no local source for seaweed or rice, the sushi bar was converted to a tapas station, receiving rave reviews and
Submitted by Susan Martinez, Operations Manager
Along with Homegrown Meats beef, creativity was the star for the 100% local, delicious, and all-around perfect day.
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...at the Musical Instrument Museum, Phoenix
The enthusiasm and dedication of Bon Appétit chefs is a key part of what makes us exceptional. Some chefs get so excited about local food, they become the company’s foragers and piscators, volunteering to help others in their region connect with local farms, ranches, and seafood producers. Executive Chef Chris Lenza of the Musical Instrument Museum is one of those overachievers. Forget a mere 100% local dish, with non-local salt allowed. Chris designed an entirely locally sourced menu and managed to find a source for local salt in the Sonoran Desert as well as a source for local pepper. Even the grab-and-go items, desserts, and condiments — down to the aioli made with local duck eggs — were local! And one guest had this to say about the vegan sampler: “It was hands down the most pleasurable dining experience I have had in the café. The food was delicious, it was beautiful to look at, and it was such a nice change from what you find at so many vegan restaurants: meat replacers/imitators and endless carbs. This was a spectacular meal!” Chris not only met the company’s expectations for Eat Local Challenge Day, he set a new standard for himself and his team. Submitted by Stephanie Liegeois, General Manager
Café Allegro at Musical Instrument Museum Menu Crooked Sky Farm Watermelon Spritzer | with Ridge View Farm pickled quail eggs Maya’s Farm Guajillo Squash Soup (vegan) Ridgeview Farms Turkey and House-Made Noodle Soup (with Hayden Mills flour) Late Summer Vegan Tasting of Maya’s Farm: Summer squash blossoms stuffed with Japanese eggplant and I’itoi onion sauce; marinated shishito peppers and Armenian cucumbers; purslane, arugula, and kale salad; yard-long beans tossed with toasted Verde Valley pecan butter; butternut squash and melon salsa with basil; vegetable shooter with beets, pears, and mint Mediterranean-Inspired Duo of Desert Springs Tilapia and Wilson Ranch Pork Belly | with Gohn’s grilled blue oyster mushrooms, Maya’s Farm vegetables, Arizona “Monks of Florence” Barauni olives, Seacat Garden’s tomatoes, and Hayden Mills polenta Peppercorn-Marinated Ridgeview Farms Grilled Quail | with Crooked Sky Farm potato hash, Foote’s Hold Dairy aged goat’s milk cheese, and Two Wash Ranch herbs ON THE DAILY GRILL
Power Ranch Grass-Fed Beef Burger Two Wash Ranch Chicken Breast Schreiner’s 100% All-Beef Hot Dog Vegetable Patty | of local vegetable, Bond Crop Farms tepary bean, Hayden Flour Mills chickpea, and Crooked Sky Farms sweet potato
Executive Chef Chris Lenza (right) and his son Neko picking up raw aged goat cheese from John Foote of Foote’s Hold Dairy
SIDES
Maya’s Farm Eggplant Fries Hayden Flour Mills Polenta Fries Crooked Sky Farm Sweet Potato Chips Crooked Sky Farm Red Potato Fries Hayden Flour Mills Chickpea Fritters
Sicilian cannoli with pistachios made from 100% local ingredients, including Arizona salt Photo credit: Lauren Potter, floor supervisor
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EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE 2013
...at Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C.
The Bon Appétit team at Gallaudet decided to celebrate ELC Day outside, on a balmy afternoon amongst the gROW garden they had built with students’ help a few years ago, now run by students. The good late summer weather, along with the lovely garden resource, enabled Gallaudet to shut down the Plaza Dining Hall and serve dinner as an outdoor barbecue feast. gROW garden representatives were on hand to guide classmates through the beautiful garden and identify all the herbs and vegetables, as well as to recruit new volunteers. But it wasn’t just all herbs, tomatoes, and beans: This year, Legacy Manor Farm in Boonesboro, MD, provided whole hogs, which Acting Executive Chef Mary Soto began prepping and cooking at 3 a.m. that morning to be ready for dinner at 4:30 p.m. Along with the hogs, the team served up grilled gROW garden rosemary chicken and fried blue catfish. Assorted sides included grilled corn on the cob, roasted plum sauce, roasted German Butterball potatoes, steamed rainbow carrots, roasted fingerling potatoes, oyster stew, assorted cheeses from Hope Springs Farm, apple fritters, and pumpkin fritters. Kauffman’s Fruit Farm apple cider and Trickling Springs Creamery milk helped wash it all down.
Café Manager Marvin Feggins, Residential Dining Manager Gerald Hutchins, General Manager Davina Kwong, and Acting Executive Chef Mary Soto next to their whole pig roast
Gallaudet’s campus garden
The students loved checking out the garden and feasting on the local food. At least one faculty member, Professor Rhea Kennedy, left a glowing review: “Last week’s Eat Local Challenge was absolutely astonishing! You really outdid yourself, and the kids loved it! It also came at a perfect time. One of my classes had a potluck coming up the next day. I saw several of my students gleefully carting away fresh, local produce to use.” Submitted by Davina Kwong, General Manager
...at College of Idaho, Caldwell, ID
Energy and enthusiasm were high at this year’s Eat Local Challenge at College of Idaho. Student interactions and questions were plentiful, perhaps inspired by the digital slideshow introducing them to local farmers,ranchers,and distributors with their work,history,and location. Featured partners included Peaceful Belly, Purple Sage Farms, Cloverleaf Creamery, Homestead Natural Beef, M&M Heath Farms, Idaho’s Bounty, Next Generation Organics, Robbins Family Turkey, Ballard Family Dairy, Fish Breeders of Idaho, Bitner Vineyard & Winery, and Canyon Bounty Farms. Executive Chef Tim Reinbold’s creative menu featured rustic shepherd’s pie; poached sturgeon in garlic and white wine with dillroasted carrots, parsley potatoes, and white bean cassoulet; and whole- wheat spaetzle with tomato and white bean sauté and grilled kale with fresh herbed butter. Line Cook Kris Perdew fielded the bulk of student questions at the Global station over the popular shepherd’s pie. A digital slideshow of College of Idaho’s featured partners
Submitted by Landis Jurd, Operations Manager 2 0 1 3 Vo l u m e 4
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“Far from the slop associated with many corporate and college cafeterias, a food service company is giving workers and students a healthy taste of locally sourced eats. Bon Appétit Management Co. held its ninth annual Eat Local Challenge, at which its chefs served meals that are fully locally sourced, last week. The challenge, which provided fresh grub to Lewis & Clark College students…extends to breads and sweeteners.” — Sustainable Business Oregon
…at Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR
Executive Chef Scott Claggett is new to Lewis & Clark College, but as a recent transplant from a corporate account and the Portland area’s piscator (seafood forager) he had plenty of farmer/rancher relationships to draw upon for Eat Local Challenge Day. That’s why he decided to attempt a Level Three Difficulty dish: an all-local ravioli using grass-fed Cascade beef from Scot Laney of Laney Family Farms that he would cook into a sauce to be the center of pasta made with his farm’s flour and Eat Oregon First eggs by a great Portland artisanal pasta maker and market, Pastaworks. Chef Scott and Waste Sustainability Specialist Claire Cummings had recently visited Scot’s ranch and learned about the local-product distribution company he was forming. (See facing page.) For the dish, Farmer Scot brought beef that Chef Scott then braised with a good local pinot noir for the filling, which then went to Pastaworks, along with Farmer Scot’s Scottish wheat flour and farm eggs to form a 100% local ravioli that students — and a local reporter! — appreciated. Submitted by Bonnie Azab Powell, Director of Communications
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Executive Chef Scott Clagett, Pastaworks owner Kevin de Garmo, and Sous Chef Ethan Davidsohn
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Submitted by Claire Cummings, Waste Sustainability Specialist
S
cot Laney doesn’t fit the usual mold for a farmer: he wore suits and ties for years before starting his own ranch, he grows cattle feed hydroponically in a greenhouse he built himself, and he uses ponds instead of chemicals to mitigate pests on his land. During a time when“family farms” are more of a novelty than a reality, Scot’s wife, Irene, and two children, Hannah and Ryan, are as involved in the everyday ranching business as Scot himself. To call this farmer unique would be an understatement. Scot’s philosophy is unusual, too. On Laney Family Farms’ About Us section of the website, he writes that he and his family believe that “buying Oregon food isn’t just hipster feel-goodery reserved for those with expendable income. It’s a meaningful step in an important connection between food, friends, community and family.”
Irene and Scot Laney, Executive Chef Scott Clagget, and Hannah Laney during a tour of the Laney family cattle ranch
In an effort to make “the highest quality local food available to the widest audience at the lowest prices possible,” Scot collaborated with other sustainable Oregon producers to start a local distribution program. Eat Oregon First brings together Laney Family Farms’ beef with other Oregon producers’ poultry, eggs, seafood, pork, flour, and grains to sell and distribute under one label. Laney Family Farms raises cattle that can supply ground beef to a Bon Appétit client account such as Lewis & Clark College. But our chefs want local eggs, pork, fish, and vegetables as well — and that is something that Laney Family Farms just can’t provide, at least not without dramatically branching out. Scot isn’t interested in raising chickens because he says it’s “like having 3,000 Barbra Streisands in your backyard,” and he has no interest in dealing with that many divas on a daily basis!
Scot Laney holds out some hydroponically grown forage that will become feed for his cattle
So in the case of Eat Oregon First, Scot leaves the chicken farming to Matt Hogan at Misty Meadows Farm, and together they sell their products to our chefs under one label, as a combined order, in a single delivery. It’s a great deal for the farmers, because they can save money on transportation expenses and spend more time doing what they do best — farming. It is a great deal for our chefs, because they can place single orders for multiple high-quality, local products and deal with only one delivery truck.
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Eat Oregon First Makes Finding Local and Sustainable Food Easy
EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE 2013
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U of Portland Student Wins Eat Local Challenge Photo Contest Submitted by Bonnie Azab Powell, Director of Communications
T
his year, Bon Appétit Management Company hosted a special Eat Local Challenge contest via social media. Tweets, posts, and posters encouraged guests to take a photo of their 100% local Bon Appétit meals on Eat Local Challenge Day and then upload them with their location and the hashtag #eatlocalchallenge. The most artful effort nationwide would win a $200 gift certificate to a farm-to-table restaurant in their area and signed copies of the latest books from two food-movement heroes — Michael Pollan’s Cooked and Marion Nestle’s Eat Drink Vote: An Illustrated Guide to Food Politics.
The winning entry came from Alison Gay, aka @eatburnbalance on Instagram, a first-year student and rower at the University of Portland in Portland, OR. For the Eat Local Challenge, she chose the fresh-seared albacore with wheat berries, lentils, peach puree, and farmer braising greens. And on the side, a salad with vegetables“that came from 33 different local growers”. “Quite a delicious lunch!!!” she told her 2,275 Instagram followers.“I challenge all of you to eat locally today!” On being told that her photo was the winner, she wrote to Director of Communications Bonnie Powell, “Every single day I try to eat as many local (and organic) foods as I can, so this challenge was right up my alley. I enjoyed getting to sample all sorts of local and fresh foods at my Bon Appétit café throughout the day. I think it is wonderful what you guys are doing for corporations, universities, and museums. You really are creating a sustainable future, and I am so glad I can play a part in creating that future.” After doing a little research, she chose Meriwether’s for her gift certificate. This Portland locavore haven not only sources from the best that the Willamette Valley has to offer, it has its very own farm.
Honorable mention goes to these entries from Shyla/@swatson429 at Lafayette College via Instagram (top) and Judy/@magandajpc at DuPont Café via Twitter (above)
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EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE 2013
The winning photo from Instagram user @eatburnbalance
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behind the communications curtain | bonnie azab powell
Former St. Edward’s Sous Chef David Gautreaux (now executive chef at LeTourneau University) and General Manager Michael Smith with the Tecolote basil haul
why we love local
A
s a relative Bon Appétit newbie, this Eat Local Challenge Day was only my third. However, this companywide event — along with the Farm to Fork program that is its foundation — are the main reasons I joined this company. I’ve been immersed in the local-food movement of the San Francisco Bay Area for years. I was eager for the opportunity to join an organization that was making change on a large scale, by spending tens of millions of dollars annually on small-scale agriculture. Not a week goes by that I am not reminded of just how important our direct relationships with local farmers, ranchers, and fishermen are to our mission of food service for a sustainable future. Our Eat Local Challenge comes just one day a year, but Farm to Fork ingredients are in our meals daily. At Bon Appétit, we don’t just“buy local food,” which could mean a chef just telling her produce distributor to “get me some local stuff.”Our chefs and managers know exactly who’s growing a lot of their produce and raising their protein.They’ve been to their farms and sampled their greens straight out of the field or their stone fruit off the tree.They’ve seen how they treat their pigs, and where their cattle graze. The fruit of passion
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Edward Farrow, executive chef at Panorama restaurant in the Saint Louis Art Museum. Edward was one of a number of Bon Appétiters around the country with whom I spoke about local food in the lead-up to the communications campaign for Eat Local Challenge Day. He was named a Local Hero by Edible Phoenix in both 2012 and 2013, when he was executive chef at the café for Phoenix’s Musical Instrument Museum, and since moving to St. Louis for us, has already gotten press for his Missouri-centric menus. “When we both have a mutual objective — they want to grow great fruits and vegetables, and I want to buy them to please our guests — without stating it, it becomes a partnership, with respect on both sides,” Edward continues. “The produce houses have their place, but they’re just not into it that way. It’s a business to them.” Here are just a few of the fun stories I heard about the give and take between Bon Appétit teams and their local farmers: St. Edward’s, the green machine
Executive Chef Elvin Lubrin and his team at St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX, love supporting Katie Kraemer Pitre of Tecolote Farm. So when Katie told them she had a bumper crop of basil, they said,“Bring it on!” And she did. A whopping 30 pounds of basil later, they’d not only made pesto, but basil-infused syrups and oils for year-round use in savory and sweet dishes.
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Bon Appétit regional support chef Paul Taylor (right) chats with potential Farm to Fork suppliers in central Ohio
Denison, washing a ton
Paul Taylor, a Midwest regional support chef, has been helping out at Denison University since Bon Appétit started operations there in Granville, OH, this summer, including signing up Farm to Fork vendors. Asked if he’d had any challenges doing so, he paused for a while. “Well, some of the farmers we’re working with are so small, they don’t have washing facilities for their produce,” he said. So at Denison, the Bon Appétit team has actually designated a central “washing kitchen” where all of the Farm to Fork produce gets delivered. How cool is that? Eau de cantaloupe
Johns Hopkins University General Manager Ty Paup and Executive Chef Bob Lavoie rhapsodized to me for a good hour about the joys of working with Mike Tabor, the 70-something agriculture activist and proprietor of Licking Creek Bend Farm near Baltimore.Ty has bought from Mike for years and visited his farm many, many times; Bob has become a fervent fan in the months since he moved to Hopkins from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island.
Mike brings his seed catalogs in annually to discuss with his Bon Appétit chefs what he’ll plant, but “then he still always surprises us,” says Ty. Adds Bob: “You just never know what’s going to come off his truck. One day he said,‘I’ve got some cantaloupes. They’re a little small still and not quite ready, but you want ‘em? And he brings out these soccer-ball-size melons that just smelled heavenly — all the way from across the kitchen.” He rolls his eyes back in pleasure at the memory.“I’ve never tasted cantaloupe like this before. They’re some heirloom variety he’s growing from hundred-year-old seeds.” Those are the kind of stories I love. Whether you’re a chef or an eater, having a connection to the person growing your food transforms it somehow, from fuel to something precious. For one thing, “I’m going to be a lot more careful not to burn a pan of potatoes when I know the 75-year-old farmer who was crawling around with a roller to harvest them,” as Paul Taylor says. And another: you don’t get surprise magic melons without a direct relationship!
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Young Farmer Grows Up with Bon Appétit Submitted by Paul Lieggi, Executive Chef/General Manager
ongtime Bravo readers may remember Hunter Amlie, the cool 4-year-old with the sunglasses featured on the cover of spring 2009. Hunter sat on farmer Dave Eskeldson’s shoulders the day Paul Lieggi, then executive chef at Willamette University in Salem, OR, and the Willamette team visited Dave’s Egor Acres and DuVonn Amlie’s Thistledown Farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
L
And now, Hunter is Bon Appétit’s youngest Farm to Fork vendor! He supplies Paul, now executive chef and general manager at Mount Angel Abbey in St. Benedict, OR, with fresh organic produce he’s growing himself. Hunter has been helping DuVonn, his grandmother, since he could walk and even went to Dave’s neighboring farm to help pick, plant, and weed. According to DuVonn, at the tender age of 4 or 5, Hunter chose red leaf lettuce seeds at the seed store, sprouted and tended them in her garden, and was rewarded with large and beautiful plants, which were delivered to Bon Appétit. Dave paid Hunter for his lettuce, and a commercial farmer was born! After the lettuce success, he sold sunflowers to Bon Appétit for event decorations at Willamette University, but that wasn’t enough: At the grown-up age of 7, Hunter announced that he wanted to grow his own garden. With help from Dave, Hunter decided to grow pumpkins and Indian corn. He selected his varieties with care, considering color, size, and days to maturity, and tended them just as carefully. Willamette University Executive Chef Josh Green purchased Hunter’s goods, right from his shiny red wagon. DuVonn describes Hunter as 8 going on 40, able to tell at a glance whether his fields are too dry or too moist. Even Hunter’s hobbies are agriculture-related. For the last three years, he’s been active in the Lost Ladybug Project sponsored by Cornell University (lostladybug.org), which uses volunteers to help track ladybug populations in various regions. Paul and Josh are proud to work with Willamette Valley farmers young and old but are particularly impressed by Hunter’s dedication at such a tender age!
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Hunter Amlie, sustainable farmer in training
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Hunter on farmer Dave Eskeldson’s shoulders in 2009
A younger Hunter enjoying the view from his tractor
Dave Eskeldson, owner of Egor Acres; Paul Lieggi, executive chef/general manager at Mount Angel Abbey; Hunter; and DuVonn Amlie, owner of Thistledown Farm
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Food Recovery Network Expands with Bon Appétit Support Submitted by Claire Cummings, Waste Sustainability Specialist
The FRN-supporting “green team” of BAMCO Foundation Fellows and their mentor, clockwise from top left: Waste Sustainability Specialist (formerly West Coast Fellow) Claire Cummings, Senior Fellow Nicole Tocco, Vice President of Strategy Maisie Ganzler, and Midwest Fellow Alyse Festenstein
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ith the start of the school year came the expansion of Bon Appétit Management Company’s partnership with the Food Recovery Network (FRN). This young organization is dedicated to fighting waste on college and university campuses by recovering leftover food and getting it to people in need. They harness the passion and activism of students in partnership with dining facilities, such as Bon Appétit’s at Whittier College in Whittier, CA, to start FRN chapters around the country. Bon Appétit Waste Sustainability Specialist Claire Cummings has been working closely with the Food Recovery Network and hopes to see more schools redirecting their leftovers to the hungry this year. To aid in that goal, she coauthored a Guide to Food Recovery for Chefs and Managers that FRN is making available as a downloadable PDF. This resource is designed to help campus dining services at schools around the country — not just Bon Appétit ones — work with students to launch food recovery programs. It covers food safety and liability basics and is full of useful tips. 32 | BRAVO
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U Penn’s New Containers Do Away with Throwaway Submitted by Beth Bayrd, Marketing Manager
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educing and diverting our waste stream has long been a focus at Bon Appétit. The teams at three Bon Appétit dining cafés at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia — 1920 Commons, Hill House, and King’s Court English House — are thus thrilled to pilot the new Green2Go program, providing reusable takeout containers to students this year. This partnership with Bon Appétit, Penn Dining, and Penn Green Campus is a part of Penn’s Climate Action Plan, funded by a grant from the Penn Green Fund. In the past, the dining cafés have handed out more than 171,000 clamshell containers annually to students who ask for togo meals. The Green2Go program will instead provide students with reusable eco-containers (microwave-safe, antimicrobial clamshell containers that can be reused several times and then recycled at the end of their lives), with the goal of cutting use of the plastic clamshells by twothirds. All dining plan holders are automatically enrolled in the program. Promotion for the program uses the three Es as a mnemonic device: Enter, Enjoy, and Exchange. The Bon Appétit team is pleased with this opportunity to make a large impact on the amount of waste generated annually on the University of Pennsylvania campus. The program calls to mind three more Es: it’s easy, ecofriendly, and efficient!
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Executive Chef Shaun Holtgreve by the herb wall
Café’s Herb Wall Targets the Senses Submitted by Kathy Vik, Operations Manager
Shaun cutting fresh herbs
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ven though Café Target is on the second floor of the Target Headquarters office towers in Minneapolis, it has the freshest herbs growing onsite — thanks to a customized vertical planting wall.
To allow for the greatest variety and flexibility through seasons, the wall is double-sided with individual planting cubes and can move to follow the sun. Executive Chef Shaun Holtgreve works directly with Target partner Tommy Carvers, a local plant, landscape, and florist company to supply the plants, plant the wall, and transition out old herbs and replant new ones as needed. As the Minnesota season changes, so does the productivity of certain herbs. The wall has grown several basil varieties, lemongrass, oregano, sage, garlic chives, and more — even some peppers. The aroma of the planter is amazing, and the flavors are superb. It is truly a chef ’s dream to have a seasonal cutting garden of fresh herbs. Shaun’s bonus is that he doesn’t even have to pull a weed or leave the building’s second floor!
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Oberlin College Goes Even More Meatless Submitted by Eric Pecherkiewicz, Marketing Manager/Registered Dietitian
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nown for its superb music program and rigorous academics, Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH, is also highly committed to sustainability and food justice. So it was no surprise when several employees from Oberlin’s Office of Sustainability — concerned about the environmental impacts of meat consumption — teamed with like-minded campus dining employees to negotiate with Bon Appétit about expanding the school’s Meatless Monday program.
making both of the featured entrées either vegan or vegetarian. The combined student group, concerned also about animal welfare and nutrition, wanted to see more cafés involved, as well as more stations or meals going meatless altogether. Historically, as is Bon Appétit policy, there have been plentiful vegetarian and vegan options at all meals. But meat, poultry, and fish are also regularly offered, and the majority of students consume these foods occasionally. So the studentled Go Meatless initiative was rather controversial in its efforts to reduce meat consumption by eliminating the meat choices entirely. Much debate surrounded these efforts, including a presentation to a group of student athletes, moderated in part by Bon Appétit’s Registered Dietitian Eric Pecherkiewicz. The result was a series of meals during the college’s “Ecolympics” that offered multiple meatless stations. The three main dining halls each hosted one dinner, though they rotated days so as to respect those students who still wanted to be able to choose meat. Each special meal had a promotional table featuring representatives such as Eric, Oberlin Dining Director Michele Gross, and student employees.
Julia Pearlstein-Levy, an Oberlin student and Office of Sustainability employee, volunteers at an information table to answer questions and promote vegetarianism
Despite preliminary controversy, the initiative ended up being well received overall — surely some delicious meatfree meals helped! The Office of Sustainability conducted an informal survey related to the meatless promotion and found responding students to be generally receptive to expanding Meatless Monday. For the new school year, Bon Appétit and Oberlin College have committed to reducing meat consumption even further through increased Go Meatless meals.
Meatless Monday is a nonprofit initiative of the Monday Campaigns, in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Its goal is to help conscientious eaters reduce their meat consumption by 15% (by forgoing meat one day a week) in order to improve their personal health and the health of the planet. Previously, only one Oberlin dining hall participated in Meatless Monday, by 2 0 1 3 Vo l u m e 4
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Local Kids Learn About a Future in Food Service Submitted by Shannon Hulley, Marketing Manager
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ecause Bon Appétiters love what they do, opening the kitchen doors for behind-the-scenes tours is one of their favorite activities. On a recent weekday afternoon at SAP in Palo Alto, CA, several Northern California teams shared their passion with a group of enthusiastic middle school kids, who got to learn about the wide variety of careers available to them in food service.
The girls enjoying snacks while they sport their new Bon Appétit gear
Participants in the Boys & Girls Club of East Palo Alto’s enrichment and after-school programs toured SAP’s new Café 8; met with Bon Appétit chefs, managers, and marketing, human resources, and accounting representatives; and then enjoyed a fantastic spread of sweet and savory snacks prepared by SAP Executive Chef Melissa Miller and her team. For many of the kids, this visit was their first to a commercial kitchen. Melissa wowed them with her large-scale kitchen equipment, mystery culinary tools, and a brief but shriekinducing foray into the walk-in. The kids watched raptly as SAP chefs and cooks prepared beef and vegetable sliders, which they got to devour later. After a brief kitchen tour, the kids went on a“career scavenger hunt,” visiting tables manned by Bon Appétiters representing catering, café management, marketing, human resources, finance, administration, and culinary. They asked focused questions to earn stickers, which they later redeemed for special treats: Bon Appétit caps and a pint of Farm to Fork strawberries! At the end of the afternoon, Bon Appétiters and the kids chatted and joked as they enjoyed sliders, TCHO chocolate, Farm to Fork peaches and strawberries, and cheese and crackers. The knowledge they gained will help these kids follow a successful career path — maybe even one that brings them to Bon Appétit!
The kids “cool off” in the walk-in
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After an afternoon of fun at SAP, the kids couldn’t contain their excitement
Chef/Manager Robert Perez, Line Cook Jameson Winters, and Chef de Cuisine Jesus Zaragoza discuss culinary careers with a student from the Boys & Girls Club
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Washington University’s Camp Kumquat Inspires Next Generation of Food Enthusiasts Submitted by Alyse Festenstein, Midwest Fellow
Wil Fernandez-Cruz, chef de cuisine at Ibby’s, prepares grass-fed beef tenderloin and kohlrabi salad for a special lunch at the camp
cuisine at Ibby’s, the popular Washington University campus bistro that highlights local flavors and seasonal ingredients.
n a sticky, 95-degree summer afternoon in St. Louis, Midwest Fellow Alyse Festenstein headed to Washington University’s student-run farm, the Burning Kumquat, to meet the newest farmer recruits — nine 11-year-olds. These St. Louis sixth graders were at the farm for the third summer of Camp Kumquat, an urban farm summer camp where middle-school children can get their hands dirty and learn about growing food and sustainability. Washington University student farmers Jenny Fung, Alyssa Tutterow, and Mara Nelson dedicated months to dreaming, planning, and organizing a couple of two-week sessions of jam-packed summer fun. A Burning Kumquat staff alum herself, Alyse was excited to visit and meet their crew.
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It was a great afternoon to be a camper. Wil Fernandez-Cruz was just setting up his stovetop in the garden to cook lunch with the hyperlocal Kumquat produce. Wil is Bon Appétit’s new chef de 38 | BRAVO
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“Go harvest!” Wil said, and the kids scattered in all directions. Buzzing around the garden, they snapped off leaves of Lacinato kale and mesclun greens; pulled up kohlrabi, onions, and carrots; and picked fresh cilantro, basil, and dill. They returned back to the picnic tables and eagerly washed the produce. As Wil surveyed the vegetables and herbs, he unloaded his other ingredients: avocado, lemon juice, tomatoes, and grass-fed beef tenderloin and tilapia fillets from a campus event the night before. The campers gathered around as he started cutting the tomatoes.“We’re going to make honest food today,” he said.“You know why I say that? Because it’s simple, and you take pride in it.” The resulting menu was indeed simple — simply delicious: tomato salad with capers, kohlrabi slaw, fresh garden greens in lemon vinaigrette, and pan-seared fish and beef fillets. His incredible food did not go unappreciated. As they munched contentedly, one camper said, “This salad is awesome!” Another shouted, “This is the best fish I’ve ever had!” During their first week, campers visited with a local beekeeper, took a trip to a local grocery store for a healthy food scavenger hunt, and explored Missouri’s ecosystems at a nearby ecology center. They also learned about the wonders of fermentation and yogurt making with Will Fischer from
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Hill Country Café Helps at the Local Food Bank Submitted by Joan Homrich, General Manager
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iving back to the community takes on a particularly special meaning when a staffer has a personal connection to a cause or a place. Hill Country Café Utility Person James Stouffer, who knows what it’s like to be homeless, volunteers weekly at Haven for Hope. He helped arrange for a group outing to the San Antonio food bank to help prepare a meal.
Campers and counselors at Camp Kumquat prepare a garden bed for squash planting Photo courtesy of Alyssa Tutterow
Washington University’s Office of Sustainability. At camp, he’s fondly known as Dairy Dude. After finishing the last course of lunch, some campers showed off a new cylindrical bin in the back of the garden. “It’s worm juice!” they exclaimed, pointing to a liquid coming out of a spigot at the bottom. This was their vermicomposting bin, and the “worm juice” (also known as worm tea) came from the nutrient-rich worm castings. “It’s really good fertilizer for our plants,” explained a camper.
Staffers had a lot of fun helping out there, while also having an eye-opening experience and seeing a part of San Antonio that is largely foreign to them. Haven for Hope provides housing and food for an average of 500 people a day including children. Team members were thrilled to share their talents and make a difference for even just one day. The chef at Haven for Hope was impressed with what they were able to accomplish in their short time in the kitchen. The visit was a powerful experience for everyone who participated, who came away glad to work for a company that encourages community involvement.
Washington University Resident District Manager Nadeem Siddiqui has been one of the greatest advocates for the Burning Kumquat farm and camp since its first summer in 2009. The team provides nutritious lunches and snacks for the campers, activities with the chefs, and an end-of-session celebration for their families. This support, coupled with grants from the university, allows camp to remain available to all children regardless of their family’s economic situation. Alyse left the farm with a belly full of delicious food and a heart full of pride, amazed at what Bon Appétit chefs, staff, and student farmers can accomplish when they partner together.
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U Penn Summer Culinary Program Showcases Bon Appétit Values Submitted by Beth Bayrd, Marketing Manager
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hefs show their passion for great food daily by preparing it for their guests, but getting to share their passion for their industry with students hoping to follow in their footsteps is a rare treat.
Executive Chefs Donald Stauffer and Jerome Seeney and Campus Executive Chef Chris Smith, all from the Bon Appétit team at University of Pennsylvania, got to do just this at the Summer Discovery program at Penn. This unique program — for high school students to experience pre-college immersion/enrichment in various fields — is offered at 11 locations in five countries. Penn’s summer culinary program in Philadelphia pulled in 14 students from locations such as Turkey, Brazil, Switzerland, and the United States. It emphasized the total culinary experience, including hands-on training and preparation, low-impact farming, restaurant management, and cooking in a fully equipped professional kitchen. Participants began the four-week program with learning about sanitation and basic knife skills and soon moved on to making soups, sauces, and breakfast. In the second week, they learned the fundamental cooking procedures of roasting, sautéing, frying, braising, and steaming. Focusing on each cooking technique enabled the students to develop new skills that they can easily adapt to any cuisine. The third week was all about baking: a full education in various mixing techniques and how to apply baking skills to cakes, cookies, pastries, and breads. For the final week, the students were challenged to bring together all their newly acquired skills to develop recipes for a Grand Finale Gala that hosted their families, the chefs, and community members. To beat the kitchen heat and break up the day, Summer Discovery participants also went on field trips and received guest lectures on restaurant management, etiquette, and catering from industry professionals. Field trips this year included visits to local farms such as Kegels Produce, Flint Hill Farms, Lancaster Produce Auction, and Basciani Mushroom Farm, as well as a chocolate tour of Philadelphia! Bon Appétit Director of Specialty Culinary Programs Jim Dodge joined the group for a baking demonstration. Jim is renowned for his pastry and baking techniques: he is the author of The American Baker and Baking with Jim Dodge and a contributing editor for the new edition of the Joy of Cooking. Participants came away with quite a culinary education in such a brief time. The Bon Appétit chefs at Penn enjoyed the chance to develop the next generation of young chefs around the world.
University of Pennsylvania Executive Chefs Donald Stauffer and Jerome Seeney and Campus Executive Chef Chris Smith
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Director of Specialty Culinary Programs Jim Dodge demonstrating how to finish his New England blueberry pie
Ice sculpture demonstration
Chocolate mousse parfaits prepared by students for the Grand Finale Gala
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talking about food | maisie ganzler
what we can learn from millennials
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recent New York Times article asked,“Are millennials — those born from roughly 1980 to 2000 — about to fundamentally change companies for the better?”The writer’s response:“Yes, if companies dare to listen.”
What this means for us: If we do a good job telling the story behind our food, we’ll earn loyal customers. Our values-based purchasing resonates well with millennials.
At Bon Appétit Management Company, we’d better listen. Millennials now make up a significant share of our customer base, including not just our college students but also many of the corporate employees we feed. Additionally, millennials’ interest in travel means we’re seeing more and more Gen Y’ers (as they’re also called) in our museum venues. Millennials hold the key to our success for the decade to come.
This is not the“children should be seen but not heard”generation. Generally speaking, these young people were raised participating in family meetings and having their parents solicit and value their opinions. Millennials expect us to be equally transparent and inclusive. “Because I said so” didn’t cut it when they were kids and won’t win us any favors now, either. To satisfy these customers, we have to be open about our decision-making processes, share our thinking, and ask for input. The good news is that millennials want to be part of problem-solving, and if we allow them in, they’ll be partners in solution-building, not just complainers.
Buying Peas to Achieve World Peace
Eighty-million strong in the United States alone, with $4 trillion (yes, trillion with a T) in spending power globally, millennials are changing the world. And those changes are being made very consciously. Sixty-four percent rank making the world a better place as their priority in life. This desire to make positive change is a critical factor in making purchasing decisions. With sites like www.buycott.com aimed at helping “you to organize your everyday consumer spending so that it reflects your principles,” 27% of millennials report having started buying a product for ethical reasons and 30% having stopped for the same reason.
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Feed the Feedback Machine
It’s going to take a little bravery on our part though. We’ve got to show our weaknesses along with our strengths and let them help us make change. They’re asking for honesty, not perfection. What this means for us: We should be open to feedback in many forms. Food advisory committees must be used for two-way communication. Struggling with how to better market events or drive sales in the afternoon? Ask the advisory committee for
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suggestions. I’m not just talking about student committees either. Corporate accounts should have a way for interested guests to get more involved in dining. While in-person conversations are invaluable, digital is where it’s at. Look for innovative feedback mechanisms to be built into www.CafeBonAppetit.com within the next six months, and ask your regional marketing director about Dropthought if you’ve got budget for a paid commentcollection system. No matter how you get the feedback, respond immediately. Gen Y made “text” a verb because email was too slow. Now I’m not suggesting you send out texts (studies show people still reserve texting for personal use and see email as the proper channel for business), but you should get back to guests within 24 hours at the very longest. The Herd Wants to Be Heard
Millennials travel in packs. Family, defined as relatives or peers with common interests, is extremely important. Social media means they’re never truly alone. There is always a friend to share thoughts with, complain about service to, or ask the opinion of. Don’t like your burger? Forget telling a friend. How about telling 500 friends with the tap of a smartphone? What this means for us: We’ve got to treat each guest as carefully as if they’re a reporter or restaurant critic. Think I’m exaggerating? Check out the number of Instagram followers the winner of our Eat Local Challenge photo contest has (see page 26). Also, consider offering “group” portions. Gen Y’s focus on community-building is a natural fit for breaking bread together. Give them a way to share dishes easily.
Word Hard, Play Harder
Millennials are changing the workplace as well. Having watched their parents work hard only to have seemingly solid companies like Enron and Lehman Brothers crumble, millennials aren’t willing to dedicate their lives to work and only work. Sixty-nine percent would rather take time off to pursue a hobby than be on the fast track. Terms like “life résumé” speak to Gen Y’s pursuit of experiences. In fact, 70% would rather buy a cool experience than buy a cool product. What this means for us: Great food is no longer enough. We have to deliver an experience. If you’ve heard our CEO, Fedele Bauccio, speak lately, he’s been preaching that the experience concept is the future of our business. Forget anything that even feels like a big cafeteria. Think mobile food, pop-ups, family-style dining (remember that pack mentality?), festivals, and anything else that surprises and delights. Power Is Powerful
Lastly, here’s an obvious one but one that somehow gets overlooked in most of our cafés. Millennials are always plugged in. Laptops, smartphones, tablets — they’ve got them all. What this means for us: You guessed it — we have to provide charging stations. Want guests to hang out in the café and buy an espresso or pastry? Let them plug in. Power sources will make you very popular.
Let Guests Have Their Way With You
As group-oriented as millennials are, they also want to stand out. From parents putting “My child is an honor student” bumper stickers on their cars to regular people becoming overnight stars on reality TV, it’s no wonder millennials think fame is just around the corner for them. What this means for us: The more customized options we can offer, the better. Millennials want things made just for them, taking into account their likes, dislikes, allergies, and dietary requirements. Use this hunger for fame in your marketing, too. Name a cookie after the class president, put photos of campus events on your digital signage so people get to see themselves on TV, or challenge a popular food-obsessed customer to a cook-off.
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Curious NorCal Chefs and the TCHO Chocolate Factory Submitted by Norris Mei, Project Assistant
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uring a rare warm afternoon in San Francisco, a band of 13 Bon Appétit chefs and associates from several Northern California accounts gathered at Pier 17 for a private factory tour of TCHO, the city’s premier small-batch chocolate maker. Executive Pastry Chef Ian Farrell from Oracle - Redwood Shores, who uses TCHO in his desserts and confections, coordinated the exclusive tour for other Northern California chefs to learn more about chocolate production, from“pod to palate.” As Ian says,“Chocolate is the perfect food, and TCHO is the perfect chocolate — even if my admiration for it makes my clothes shrink!”
The first stop on the tour was the company’s laboratory, one of seven it operates around the world. Over the whir of miniature roasters and grinders, TCHO Vice President of Sourcing and Development John Kehoe explained the different stages of chocolate production, starting with the direct sourcing of cacao beans from farmers in countries such as Ghana and Ecuador and then moving to fermentation, drying, and roasting. TCHO works closely with its bean producers to develop a better product right at the source through improved physical infrastructure and methodology. Its farmer partners are trained to use the same type of technology and innovation that exist at the San Francisco lab to detect and understand the flavors and quality that TCHO is looking for. Few growers have ever even tasted chocolate made from their beans before. This skill sharing empowers growers to improve their livelihoods and create a superior bean. The group of Bon Appétit chocolate enthusiasts got a firsthand look at the equipment and software used for quality assurance and data collection. Although people have enjoyed cacao for ages, very little has been documented about chocolate. According to Brad Kintzer, 44 | BRAVO
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TCHO’s chief chocolate maker, chocolate is 50 years behind wine in terms of our understanding of its genetics and varieties in taste. The Bon Appétit chefs eagerly asked questions and absorbed the information and surroundings. “Do you spot any Oompa Loompas?” joked Ian as the tour moved from the laboratory to the main manufacturing area. The team did a walk-through and witnessed chocolate production in its final stages: conching (the melting, blending, and smoothing of chocolate through frictional heat), molding, and packaging. Then came the most anticipated part of the tour — the tasting! Each person got to sample 11 different TCHO chocolates, including the signature bars, the newer milk chocolates, and the darker varieties. Dedicated to using the best possible ingredients, Ian remarked on the high quality of the Organic Fair Trade TCHO 66% and Organic Fair Trade Classic Milk 39% that his team uses in its line of truffles and cakes. “[TCHO] has a very rich, complex taste, and the company focuses on the flavors of chocolate, separating them by profile — nutty, fruity, chocolatey, earthy, etc. — rather than [just] by cacao percentage or the origin of the beans. Not only does it taste delicious and is locally manufactured from bean to bar, but most of the TCHO line is Fair Trade, so the cacao farmers receive a better price for their beans.”
The TCHO team displays a special message for Bon Appétit in the gift store
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Kacie Patino, controller at LinkedIn, smelling freshly sliced cacao beans from an apparatus used for quality control
Everyone benefited from the education and fun time spent with their colleagues and received some goodies to take home. The best treat, however, was the chance to support and learn more about TCHO’s investment in its growers, a model that reflects Bon Appétit’s own commitment to partnering with farmers and producers and creating the best product possible.
NorCal Bon Appétiters ready for the tasting
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White + Wong cookies: another partnership between Bon Appétit and local student entrepreneurs
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fter graduating with a business degree, three Wharton graduates and a current master’s student have brought their business back to school.
Wharton is the premier business school located within the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Wharton MBA graduates Josh White and Kim Wong started White Wong Cookies last January and have been selling the cookies primarily through their cutely named website, www.whiteandwongbakery.com. But at the start of this school year, they reached out to the Bon Appétit team at Penn, and a partnership was born — opening the floodgates to about 1,000 cookies per week! One way Josh and Kim managed to make their startup work was through renting part-time kitchen space at the Center for Culinary Enterprises, a nonprofit with which Bon Appétit partners that provides space to foster the growth of local food businesses.“We’re keeping the money in the city,” said Sky Strouth, director of retail dining operations for Bon Appétit. He claimed that by using the center, food businesses could eliminate 90 percent of their startup costs.
Student Entrepreneurs Start Sweet Partnership with Bon Appétit at Penn Submitted by Beth Bayrd, Marketing Manager
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Josh and Kim aren’t the only examples of MBA grads going into the food world and bringing their business back to Penn. Kalefe Wright, a 2013 Wharton MBA graduate, is the head of business development at Jin+Ja, a threeyear-old startup that markets an uncommon drink.“What separates it is the spicy kick,” says Kalefe. The drink combines green tea, lemon, ginger, sugar, mint, and cayenne pepper for a taste “like ginger beer with a spicier kick,” said engineering sophomore Fabian Toro, who sampled Kalefe Wright, director of business development for Jin+Ja and Wharton graduate
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In keeping with the Righteous Felon name, the company donates a portion of all proceeds to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through the use of DNA evidence and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustices from occurring. All of these locally conceived and created products have been well received by the Penn community. For Bon Appétit, partnering with these home-grown businesses is just, well, good business!
the drink at a tasting event. Jin+Ja last year won Outstanding Cold Beverage from the Specialty Food Association. Though the company has been around for a few years, Jin+Ja has only recently arrived on Penn’s campus, after Kalefe contacted Bon Appétit. Since it came to Penn, it’s been available in 1920 Commons Retail, Joe’s Cafe, and Houston Market.
Righteous Felon Beef Jerky co-owner Bill Cohen
Emboldened by these successes, more student entrepreneurs are creating food products. Bill Cohen, a master’s student in environmental sciences at Penn, has cofounded Righteous Felon Beef Jerky. In today's world, it’s rare to find a pure jerky product that hasn’t been mass produced in a factory and “stepped on” with preservatives, chemicals, and low-grade ingredients, according to Brendan Cawley, cofounder and CEO, but at Righteous Felon, the recipes are creative and natural, made with local beef from Roseda Black Angus Farm (a Bon Appétit Farm to Fork supplier as well) and produced in small batches to ensure freshness, quality, and consistency.
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reflections
It’s a Restless DreamWorks with So Much to Celebrate Submitted by Anthony Fabrizio, DreamWorks Animation Facility Manager
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t’s 11:30 on a Wednesday night, and Chef/Manager Michael Grandon’s team have just finished making the last batch of 5,000 appetizers for a massive party the following day.
Blink! It’s 4 a.m., and they’re right back in the kitchen preparing food for 600 DreamWorkers, all of whom will be ready to dive into breakfast and lunch in a few short hours. This type of grind is not for the faint of heart, but Michael — Bon Appétit’s top chef at PDI/DreamWorks in Redwood City, CA — and his team of 10 are focused and doing what they do best: creating delicious meals and keeping people happy. They prepare breakfast and lunch daily for 600 employees at the animation studio behind such films as Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon.
On this particular day, DreamWorks Animation is celebrating the halfway point in production of its 2014 film Mr. Peabody & Sherman. Michael knows how serious DreamWorkers take their parties, and today is certainly a milestone celebration! The events team passes over the typical stuffy wine-andcheese affair in favor of the more fanciful. It has incorporated archery games, a Twister bounce house, tunnel mazes, drawing contests, and relay races that involve carrying 8-foot Styrofoam cakes through a maze...blindfolded. After Michael’s staff completes the daily lunch service from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., it’s time to quickly prep those 5,000 appetizers by 4 p.m. It’s a monumental task that gets pulled off without a hitch! As hungry DreamWorkers return from the party, they head straight into the commissary and commence in devouring the tasty offerings. After a long and successful day, Michael and his team take a brief pause before cleaning the commissary and performing the weekly Thursday night inventory. After all, they have 600 DreamWorkers to feed the next day!
The dream team (back row): Jacob Saucedo, dishwasher; Francisco Ochoa, cook; Miguel Garcia, cook; Theo Campos, cook; Martell Taylor, dishwasher; and Chef/Manager Michael Grandon. Front row: Sonia Aranvia, cashier; Thomas Chavez, cook; Alma Garcia, sous chef; Cruz Herrera, utility; and Tiffany McDaniel, prep cook
Though a full-time occupation in themselves, daily meals are just the tip of the iceberg for the Bon Appétit team, which is constantly catering within PDI/DreamWorks for private meetings and happy hour celebrations, as well as ensuring that the office is always fully stocked with snacks and beverages.
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an operator’s view | michael bauccio
the meaning of good service
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want to say a big thank-you to every Bon Appétit employee for helping us be known as the best in the food service industry when it comes to service. I hear over and over again from clients that they appreciate how we’re able to turn on a dime, how we are not just responsive, we are proactive in anticipating customer requests and suggestions. That is something you just can’t teach from the top down, and I am proud that they notice.
On the facing page, our client at DreamWorks, Anthony Fabrizio, writes about the nonstop hard work by Chef/Manager Michael Grandon and his team. They’re a perfect example of how providing good service isn’t about checking off all your defined tasks and then going home. It’s about looking around and seeing what needs to be done, and helping to do it. It’s about stepping in when a team member needs help carrying something safely, or when you can see that the front-of-house staff is overwhelmed. Now, not everyone can — or should! — jump on the line to get grill entrées out, but I’ve seen marketing folks making sandwiches during an opening crush. Is that their job? Of course not. But you can bet the guests appreciated it. And imagine how an Oregon guest felt learning that Lacy French, then a Bon Appétit cashier and now the RA1 Café supervisor, was willing and able to give him her own bone marrow for a medical transplant. (See following page.) That’s beyond good service — that’s heroic.
I don’t expect everyone to go that far. But I do expect that every Bon Appétit employee knows that first and foremost, their job is to do what needs to be done to ensure our guests have the best experience possible in our cafés. One thing I hope you never hear at a Bon Appétit café is “That’s not my job.” Our employees just don’t think that way. At openings, I’ve seen top managers opening boxes of small wares and vacuuming floors. And I’ve seen cashiers wiping down salad bars and bussing tables. I’ve been proud to overhear a utility person, when asked a question by a passerby about whether a dish was vegetarian or not, tell her, “Let me ask the kitchen and find that out for you.” Good service isn’t about knowing all the answers. It’s knowing that it’s your job to find them out.
ABOVE: Resident District Manager Norman Zwagil creating a chalkboard sign for a local artisan product at the Johns Hopkins University opening
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RA1 Supervisor Shows the Embodiment of Service Submitted by Grace Wilson, Marketing Manager
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t’s not uncommon to find extraordinary personal connections among Bon Appétit employees and guests: longtime, dedicated staff members who remember not just customers by name, but their family members and pets. But some truly stand out in their dedication to the communities they serve.
One of these people is Lacy French, café supervisor of the RA1 Café in Hillsboro, OR. Lacy is someone who makes you feel like you have known her all your life. With her bright smile and engaging personality, she is a customer and staff favorite wherever she goes. She comes from a family with strong beliefs in being kind and helpful, and it shows in her passion for customer service and commitment to doing the best job she can daily. While working at the JF3 Café, Lacy heard that Steve, one of her regular customers, had been diagnosed with a second bout of lymphoma and was having trouble finding a bone marrow donor. She immediately went to a medical facility to have herself tested. When her results came back at a 100% match, she donated as soon as she could. Steve left work to receive treatment for his illness, which he was given a 30 percent chance of surviving. A few months later in her new position at RA1, Lacy was thrilled to look up from her register and see a fully recovered Steve, who was equally overjoyed to share how her sacrifice had helped set him on this path of recovery. When asked why she felt compelled to help, Lacy simply stated, “I have always believed in the kindness we can show each other. I would do this for anyone.” Lacy added that she was just happy she had been a match, as she had been told the odds were extremely rare of her being able to help. The RA1 and JF3 teams have been very inspired by Lacy’s selfless kindness and compassion and the impact she has had on the community.
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Café Supervisor Lacy French
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Saint Louis Art Museum Continues to Draw Community Buzz Submitted by Sarah Hunkins, Catering Sales Manager
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he Bon Appétit team at the Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) kicked off a busy fall catering season with several events for local corporations, social groups, and networking opportunities. With a fabulous contemporary atmosphere in the brand-new wing, SLAM is attracting a new generation of art lovers to experience everything the museum has to offer. The Regional Business Council of St. Louis’s Young Professionals Network chose SLAM to host a fall happy hour event, and the nearly 300 guests more than doubled the turnout they had anticipated! Guests enjoyed great appetizers and fun drinks and learned about what the museum is bringing to St. Louis through the museum’s director, Brent Benjamin.
Bell pepper jam with Heartland Dairy goat cheese and domestic lamb on garlic crostini
SLAM Café Fall Menu Reflects Seasonal Bounty Submitted by Candice Sheppard-Sanders, Pastry Chef
Fall, with its bounty of pumpkins, is Saint Louis Art Museum Pastry Chef Candice Sheppard-Sanders’s favorite time of year, and the SLAM Café was able to showcase the variety and abundance of fall just about daily, through pumpkin cookies with a spiced pumpkin glaze, pumpkin breakfast breads, pumpkin cupcakes with chocolate ganache, and several scones and muffins with apples and pears. Spiced pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds) made for some savory snacks. Missouri black walnuts, pecans, and pistachios were the perfect local ingredients on which to base savory dishes and pastries alike.
Another fabulous event was hosted by Enterprise Holdings in Taylor Hall, the namesake of St. Louis native Jack Taylor, founder of rental car empire Enterprise Holdings. Barbara Taylor, current president of the museum’s board of trustees, hosted a gorgeous event in Taylor Hall for the Enterprise Leadership Event in September. Meanwhile, October was full of catered events, including a plated dinner for a 340-guest black tie event. Bon Appétit staffers have been thoroughly enjoying developing this account and new community relationships!
Taylor Hall
The patrons seems to be the most wild about the café’s simple but delicious spiced nuts (walnuts, cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and honey). The glorious combination of fresh, local, and fall was irresistible. Raw nuts and pumpkin seeds Pecan brittle
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honors & awards ALTHOUGH INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE PERSONAL
Steve Jacobson, associate vice president for student life at University of the Pacific; Judy Chambers, past vice president for student life; Sia Mohsenzadegan, resident district manager; and Patrick Day, vice president for student life
SATISFACTION IN A JOB WELL DONE, IT SURE FEELS NICE TO BE RECOGNIZED BY OTHERS. AND RECENTLY THESE BON APPÉTIT STAFFERS AND TEAMS WERE PROUD TO BE HONORED WITH AWARDS BY THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY SERVE.
The Judy Chambers Award is bestowed upon three individuals at the start of each academic year. One award goes to exempt university employees, one to non-exempt employees, and the third to an individual outside the Student Life Division.
University of the Pacific Recognizes RDM Sia Mohsenzadegan
When Sia Mohsenzadegan, resident district manager at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA, received an invitation to the university’s annual Student Life retreat ostensibly to make a presentation to the new vice president, he was honored. When he was instead presented as a surprise with the Judy Chambers Award for Outstanding Service to Student Life, he was quite overcome. 52 | BRAVO
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In his speech praising Sia, Steve Jacobson, associate vice president for student life, called him“an innovator and a catalyst for change within the Pacific community” as well as an important mentor to many student workers, dining managers, and chefs. Sia has “made it his personal mission to have Pacific be an institution that has one of the strongest and most vibrant dining service operations on the West Coast.” Among Sia’s achievements: Transitioning the school’s dining services from an all-you-care-to-eat system to a declining balance operation; opening three new dining venues on campus and launching the first university food truck on the West Coast tied in with a student meal plan; instituting many new dining station options for students; and rolling out the popular Tapingo smart phone application. And under Sia’s leadership, University of the Pacific has won Bon Appétit’s Great Expectation 3 certification award. “While in fact he is employed by Bon Appétit, we know that he is really one of us,” concluded Steve. Submitted by Steve Jacobson, Ed.D., Associate Vice President for Student Life
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Penn’s Donald Stauffer Wins Gold Medal
Sometimes it pays to keep trying. Congratulations to Donald Stauffer, executive chef at Hill House at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who took first place and an American Culinary Foundation (ACF) Gold Medal at the Mid-Atlantic regional National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) competition held in Lancaster, PA. It was his fourth year competing. Ten chefs were selected from 83 universities to compete for a spot in the national NACUFS cook-off in Minneapolis, MN. They were judged on flavor, knife cuts, cooking technique, sanitation, and organization. Duck was the theme ingredient — accompanied by a strict set of nutritional guidelines to which the chefs had to adhere for the competition. Given only one hour and two induction burners, Donald decided to focus his menu on the kind of food he prepares daily at the University of Pennsylvania. With duck as the foundation, he found it easy to select the next component — curry, a favorite among the students he serves. His red curry duck comprised a pan-seared Muscovy duck in a 38-ingredient, red curry sauce served over coconut rice with curried vegetables (eggplant, mushrooms, and tomatoes) accompanied by cucumber-mint raita and freshly made naan. According to Parcell Green, culinary chair for the competition, this is the first time a chef from a contract food service company (versus one from a self-operated, independent team) has won a NACUFS competition.
Breaking Good at Rio Rancho 7 Café
Bon Appétit’s Rio Rancho 7 Café in Albuquerque, NM — home of the TV show Breaking Bad — was voted the Best Café out of dozens operated on behalf of a certain technology company in North America. (This company prefers its food service relationship fly under the radar.) Employees voted in an internal survey, and Rio Rancho 7 beat out many worthy competitors. It was Café 7’s first time winning the top spot. It was the mix of veterans and new staff that helped bring home the banner this year, according to General Manager Karl Holme. The team pulls together to keep the 20hour-a-day operation running smoothly for their diverse customer base — a mix of engineers, technicians, contractors, and administrative staff. They found time to implement new programs such as “Salad by Weight” and one for recycling. Bon Appétiters at the client’s big cafés in Silicon Valley and Portland, OR, may need to go on a field trip to New Mexico to see what the fuss is all about…. Submitted by Karl Holme, General Manager
Rio Rancho staff standing proudly next to the banner awarded by the client
Donald won a trip to Minneapolis, MN, to compete against the five other regional winners in the national NACUFS championship. There, the Mid-Atlantic representative and firsttime competitor at the national level performed admirably, earning an ACF Bronze Medal and walking away as one of the top six in the country. Never one to rest on his laurels, Donald plans to return next year to add to his two bronze, one silver, and one gold medal — all earned while working for Bon Appétit. Submitted by Beth Bayrd, Marketing Manager
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peachfest Celebrating America’s Favorite Stone Fruit
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Submitted By Allison Amato, Retail Marketing Manager, and Norris Mei, Project Assistant
hen Bon Appétit Management Company’s Farm to Fork partner (and hero) Mas Masumoto and his family released their new book, The Perfect Peach: Recipes and Stories from the Masumoto Family Farm, we just had to celebrate — and take advantage of the summer peach harvest. Cafés around the country hosted a variety of deliciously tempting events, all featuring peaches from small growers within 150 miles.
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Guests enjoyed our chefs’ range of sweet and savory peach dishes — some made using recipes from the book and others of our chefs’ own invention. The event was a hit with staff and guests alike, because really, who doesn’t love a peach? Peachfest was the second in a series of optional, companywide events centered on a fun, seasonal theme and built upon a strong relationship between Bon Appétit Management Company and our friends in the culinary world. The first? Last year, we celebrated what would have been Julia Child’s 100th birthday. We received enthusiastic feedback from clients, guests, and staff both during and after the event, and the idea of a series was born. More than 60 accounts accepted our invitation to host a Peachfest. Using data gathered from cafés via the new promotion tracking tool (available in the new marketing toolbox), we could see that participation increased in some cases, check average increased in others — and across the board, guest response was hugely positive. Next up: Lunar New Year on January 30.The marketing team hopes even more accounts will jump in and create another fun, memorable event for guests — and use the tracking tool to measure results so we can keep improving our efforts. Here are a few slices of Peachfest celebrations… 2 0 1 3 Vo l u m e 4
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...at St. Edward’s University, Austin, TX
...at Medtronic, Minneapolis
To beat the Texas heat, guests at St. Edward’s University flocked to the grilled peach salad — refreshingly perfect on a hot summer day. To grab guests’ attention, staff handed out samples. The positive reaction was contagious, as those hearing the oohs and ahhs from those who tried the samples couldn’t resist adding the salad to their own plates.
The plated dessert station at Medtronic, featuring peach cobbler and a hugely popular basil-scented peach shortcake, was where the buzz was. To prepare the shortcake, Baker Deb Barron muddled fresh local basil from Future Farm in Baldwin, WI, and then added lemon, sugar, and a splash of water. Simmering the peaches until done, she then strained them from the juice, placed them on warm, sweetened buttermilk biscuits, and topped them with vanilla bean whipped cream. “The best part was when Deb poured the remaining peach-basil liquid over ice and handed me a glass of refreshing deliciousness,” Executive Chef Brice Wozniak says fondly.
Signage and fresh peaches on display generated initial interest, and an invitation to participate in a free drawing for the cookbook added more fun to the event. The happy winner of the Guests thoroughly enjoyed The Perfect Peach drawing the menu options created by Executive Chef Elvin Lubrin. Guests were asking for the peach menu items weeks after Peachfest, which is a strong indicator of its success. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and everyone can’t wait to do it again next year! Submitted by Clifton Clehouse, Director of Operations
...at Washington University, St. Louis
At Washington University, Peachfest provided a unique and fun event for the summer students, conference goers and the large groups of admissions tours (parents and potential students) that were visiting during the promotion. Guests were impressed not only by the cool tangy chilled peach gazpacho samples and the range of peach dishes featured in the cafés, but also by the team’s commitment to using local, fresh, and in-season produce and openness to exploring new, exciting recipes.
At the Wellness station, guests could sample the Masumotos’ recipe for sliced peach and grilled chicken spinach salad with peach vinaigrette, and at the Global station, a slow-cooked pork carnitas taco salad with fresh peach salsa was the central feature. Guests loved the abundant fresh whole peaches sold at special reduced Peachfest pricing and the free drawing for a peach-themed gift basket containing fresh and dried Farm to Fork peaches, local jam, chutney, and a copy of The Perfect Peach. Brice commented that guests were particularly excited about having a summer-themed event, after the area endured a longer winter. They also loved the recipes that staff placed out for them, which they could take home and use. Submitted by Brice Wozniak, Executive Chef
Submitted by April Powell, Marketing Manager
Sous Chef Robert Jackson setting out samples of peach gazpacho
Basil-scented peach shortcake 56 | BRAVO
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Roasted peach, bacon, and arugula pizza
…at Chandler Café, Chandler, AZ
The Chandler team went all out for Peachfest with eight different peach dishes to satisfy every taste. The day started out right with whole-wheat pancakes with sautéed peaches, walnuts, and Chantilly cream. Lunch featured two recipes from the Masumotos’ new book — mustardpeach-glazed chicken and slow-cooked pork tacos with peach and nectarine salsa. As a delicious and creative complement, guests could also choose from chilled habanero-and-peach soup; a grilled ham, peach, and cheddar grinder with peach mustard and marmalade on whole-wheat ciabatta; and roasted peach, bacon, and arugula pizza. Guests enjoyed free samples of the soup, salsa, and pizza, and many chose to order full-size versions of their favorites to enjoy for lunch. The peach soup and pork tacos were very popular, and the Chandler Café team also ran a smokehouse station with a peach barbecue sauce and peach cobbler. “Our guests seem to love our theme days,” Executive Chef Michael Colasurdo reflected.“I even did a peach theme music playlist including ‘Peaches’ by the Presidents of the United States of America and ‘The Joker’ by the Steve Miller Band.” Now that sounds like a peachy time! Submitted by Michael Colasurdo, Executive Chef
...at VMware, Palo Alto, CA
VMware invited Tod Hamilton from SF Specialty to speak with guests about the local peaches that Bon Appétit’s Northern California produce supplier had arranged for Peachfest. He brought samples of donut and clingstone peaches, and Kingsburg Orchards’ new “peacharines” — a flavorful blend of peach and nectarine with sweet flavor and minimal fuzz. The VMware team set up a table decorated with plenty of fresh peaches and created a handout about two of the major orchards Tod represents. Tod’s presence helped create a fun farmers’ market feel, and because he is very personable and knowledgeable about his produce, guests enjoyed interacting with him and trying the delicious samples he offered. Tod Hamilton, account representative at SF Specialty, shares samples and his knowledge of peaches with a guest
Submitted by Amy Lawrence, Café Manager
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...at Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
In celebration of Peachfest, the restaurants at the Art Institute created dishes using everyone’s favorite fruit of the season. Terzo Piano served pavlova-anise-flavored whipped cream with local peaches and raspberries. McKinlock Court Restaurant served crab peach tartare, brie-style cheese, and compressed peach in vanilla vinaigrette. The Museum Café served roasted pork shoulder with peach compote, as well as peach-blueberry summer salad with mixed greens, sliced almonds, grilled chicken, and orange vinaigrette. Guests at all locations were so delighted with the peachy menu items that the Art Institute continued serving them after Peachfest was over. Submitted by Jennifer McDonald, Marketing Manager
...at SAS Atrium Café, Cary, NC
Executive Chef Usanee Pistole with a plate of Peachfest samples
...at Grand Central Café, Burbank, CA
Grand Central Café guests were excited to try the range of nectarine and peach pairings in a variety of dishes. The most popular special was a carved herb-crusted pork loin with Dijon mustard and jalapeño peach chutney at the Market Grill station. While samples were handed out for all the day’s stone fruit specials, the dessert station brought home the crown with its spiced rum pound cake with cinnamon whipped cream and local peach and honey compote. Executive Chef Usanee Pistole commented,“Guests loved the combination of the saltiness from the pork and the spicy tangy-sweet chutney and enjoyed the dessert especially because we added rum into the peach compote.” Submitted by Usanee Pistole, Executive Chef
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Peachfest at SAS really had people talking! The Atrium Café prepared a variety of dishes from The Perfect Peach, including shaking beef with peaches at the Classics station. The salad bar was complemented with peach vinaigrette, and desserts included a mouthwatering peach shortcake. But, the highlight of the day was the peach-tomato salsa pop-up with multicolored tortilla chips hosted by Cook Callie Westphal, which sold out in less than two hours! There was so much love for the salsa that there have been requests to include it at the salad bar regularly. The team enjoyed using the new cookbook from the Masumoto Family Farm and featured more recipes for the remainder of peach season. Thanks to the staff working together to make fantastic food with great presentation, Peachfest 2013 was a hit! Next year, more employees will be encouraged to participate with their own peach-based recipe inventions. Submitted by Sarah Hammermeister, Marketing Director
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Peachfest on Yammer Throughout the day at cafés across the country, enthusiastic employees made use of our employee-only social media site, Yammer, to share photos and highlights from Peachfest. Here’s a sample: Peachfest is off to a sweet start at the RS5 café. On the menu today are peach Italian sodas with local peach syrup, roasted peach salad with local arugula, grilled chicken and pickled red onions, vegetable pakora with peach chutney, grilled chicken quesadillas with local peach pico de gallo, and peach shortcake. I may have to eat more than one lunch today, oh darn! —Grace Wilson, Marketing Manager, Ronler Acres, Hillsboro, OR
White peach, yellow peach (and nectarine too), Bourbon peach French toast, and chilled peach gazpacho soup. —Daniel Moffat, Executive Chef, Flextronics, San Jose, CA
I loved this blackened chicken salad with white peaches and peach cobbler à la mode for dessert at Adobe in San Jose. I am in summer heaven. —Allison Amato, Retail Marketing Manager, Corporate Office, Palo Alto, CA
Peachfest is in full swing here at Folsom! —Ashley Evans, Marketing Manager, Folsom, CA
Peachfest is taking over a station at RA3 featuring a peach and arugula quiche, peach and mustard glazed chicken, peach and mint lassi, and fresh peach cake. The team is also sampling local peaches, handing out recipes and chatting with guests about The Perfect Peach being raffled off to five lucky customers. —Grace Wilson, Marketing Manager, Ronler Acres, Hillsboro, OR
The Adobe Lodge at Santa Clara University is abuzz with guests excited about Peachfest! Can’t wait to see the #s this afternoon. Would have loved to share a photo of our cobbler but it was demolished, and we sold out! WOW. Not bad for a café with guests who typically won’t purchase a dessert at all. Menu: Soup of the day: peach gazpacho Tossed-to-order salad: spinach-peach-bacon salad Hot entrée: slow-cooked pork tacos | with peach and nectarine salsa, black rice, and jalapeño pinto beans Express special: mustard-peach-glazed chicken sandwich on a wheat roll Dessert: hearty peach cobbler —Melissa Reynen, Marketing Manager, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
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Google Cooks Up Some Outdoor Summer Fun With dozens of cafés in different “neighborhoods” serving many thousands of Google employees, the Bon Appétit team on its sprawling Mountain View, CA, campus has to keep things fun and fresh. A sample: To celebrate Independence Day, the Bon Appétit cafés of Crittenden Quad hosted a multifaceted star-spangled barbecue. Beta C Café served up chicken wings and corn on the cob. Lunchbox Café and Café Maverick shared a buffet line, complete with lobster rolls and baby back ribs. Chef de Cuisine Luis Rodriguez traded in his chef ’s coat for a turntable and became DJ Bay Boss for the afternoon. Google’s juggling club came to teach other attendees how to juggle, while Google’s Gfit program hosted outdoor lawn games. Bon Appétit provided cotton candy machines, snow cones, and even a climbing wall! Attendees dined on picnic tables on the grass, enjoyed sunshine and music, and rested or played games. Everyone chose their favorite version of fun. Submitted by Sarah Sterling, Café Supervisor
Cook Erik Carrido serving up plates of green salad, baked beans, brisket, and pulled pork that were so good, the guest started dancing!
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Lead Cook Clifford DeBie grills up some ribs
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A carnival wouldn’t be complete without funnel cake
Sous Chef Jordan Keao cooking smoked brisket and pulled pork in the barbecue rig
For the Quad summer barbecue hosted by Google’s Hangout Café, Sous Chef Jordan Keao wanted to do something memorable and fun. He and Catering Manager Christine McMillan envisioned a carnivalstyle event that encouraged walking from booth to booth, with each station offering a unique and delicious food experience. With the barbecue rig set up in the middle of the lawn space and booths surrounding it, the team created a fun atmosphere and interactive booths for attendees to visit. There were fun carnival treats such as funnel cakes, whole turkey legs, and a smoked meat plate, as well as healthy carnival options such as whole ears of corn on the cob, ceviche, vegan mushroom plates, and “animal-style Hangout fries” (grilled haricots verts with aioli and caramelized onions). Booths were decorated with burlap signs and mason jars full of simple flowers, and the tasty food was plated and passed from our staff to the guests. Music, beanbag-tossing games, and a watermelon-eating contest rounded out a playful event. Submitted by Audrey Gardiner, Assistant General Manager
Chef de Cuisine Micah Lee helping the Hangout team serve from one of the booths
Watermelon in line for demolition in the watermelon-eating contest
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TASTE Restaurant Sets the Table for Museum’s Key Annual Fundraiser Submitted by Joice Barnard, Public Relations Coordinator
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our years ago, when the Seattle Art Museum was planning a fundraiser that would take place at its Olympic Sculpture Park location, the TASTE Restaurant & Events team had no idea that the event their client was asking them to handle, “Set the Table for SAM,” would grow into the museum’s biggest and most anticipated fundraiser of the year. This year, the team at TASTE Restaurant & Events pulled off some amazing feats to entertain more than 500 museum donors. Once again, the museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park location offered stunning views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains as a backdrop, and the glamorous affair was rounded out with music, dancing, and dessert. The TASTE Events staff invited some of the region’s most talented artists to design unique table décor and Seattle’s hottest chefs to cook a local and seasonal feast. Under the direction of Anna Burkett, TASTE’s director of events and mastermind behind all things catering, 16 chefs, 12 pastry chefs, and more than 60 TASTE staff members served cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and a seated dinner to the elegant crowd. Rolling out an impeccable gourmet dinner service for so many guests outdoors, without a proper kitchen, is no small feat in itself, but the rolling parklands were spread out over a quarter mile! “You need to be ready for anything — and in good shape!” laughed Anna. TASTE Restaurant Executive Chef Craig Hetherington and TASTE Executive Catering & Events Chef Paul Rosquita collaborated and designed three tray-passed appetizers for all guests, as well as prepared scrumptious entrées for guests at 6 of the 54 festive tables, including vegan and allergen-friendly meals. The biggest challenge, according to Paul? “Finding time to talk to guests at our tables and all of the guest chefs.”
An impressive fundraiser event spread out at Olympic Sculpture Park
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Executive Chef Craig Hetherington and Thierry Rautureau, chef/owner of Rover’s and Luc Restaurants in Seattle, having a great time
Photo credit: Tracey Marshall Photography
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The fun event dĂŠcor was designed by talented, regional artists Photo by Liz Roland Photo credit: Tracey Marshall Photography
Paul Rosquita, executive catering & events chef, and Anna Burkett, director of events Photo credit: Tracey Marshall Photography
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Trine University Connects with Community Submitted by Craig Stangland, Catering/Marketing Manager
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ome people say the campus at Trine University in Angola, IN, gets too quiet when the students depart for summer break. So the Bon Appétit team at Trine decided to extend the bustling student energy through the summer with weekly Friday night cookouts for the community, called Depot All Aboard. General Manager Joseph Gentile developed the idea, which kept the Depot, a made-to-order grill, open during the summer. Lots of planning went into the weekly event, which featured fresh barbecue chicken and ribs from Farm to Fork vendor IQ Meats in Butler, IN. A slew of sides based on availability at other local farms varied each week to accompany the main grill entrées. Crowd favorites included macaroni and cheese, corn bread served with whipped honey butter, and fresh corn on the cob.The simple yet tasty and fresh food was accompanied by local entertainment and area wineries and breweries. Jim Weber, Island Vibe, Adam Strack, and Chris Worth partnered as entertainment. Satek Winery and Briali Winery from Fremont, IN, and Mad Anthony Brewing Company from Fort Wayne, IN, took turns showcasing their products.
MENU Five-Spice Ahi Tuna | with mango salsa on cucumber Mediterranean Platter | with baba ghanoush, red pepper hummus, marinated olives, grilled asparagus, toasted pita points, and garlic crostini Creole Crab Cakes | with red pepper remoulade Asparagus Beef Bundle Fennel-Cured House-Smoked Salmon | with sliced boiled egg, dill crème fraîche, and chive flower Smoked Scallop Lollipop | marinated in cilantro and lime Greek Stuffed Mini Roasted Red Peppers Grilled Peach and Pound Cake Dessert Shooter
Another community-outreach event was equally successful. The Trine team partnered with Satek Winery and the Thrivent Community – Great Hoagland chapter to host a food and wine pairing to benefit Kids Against Hunger, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing child hunger in both the United States and abroad. As the dishes were served, Sous Chef Steven King spoke about each item, including its ingredients and preparation method, and Associate Winemaker Shane Christ explained the wine pairing. Altogether, the 75 guests sampled eight courses with eight pairings, and many local vendors contributed. Diners enjoyed the elegant experience in the production room at Satek Winery, a locally operated, award-winning winery since 1992. Between the crowd-pleasing Depot All Aboard cookouts and high-end events such as this, the Trine team kept the campus hopping.
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Tables were set in the production room of Satek Winery in Fremont, IN
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Something’s Fishy at Biola Student Garden’s New Aquaponic System Submitted by Daniel Cruz, Food Truck Supervisor
Jason Tresser, director of the Biola Student Garden, and John Rose, executive chef, touring the aquaponic system
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ho says Christmas falls only once a year? It felt like Santa came early at Biola University in La Mirada, CA, when the Biola Student Garden received its new aquaponic raised bed system and tilapia tank. Arranged by Bon Appétit Student Employee Brendon Anthony and generously donated by Garrett Futrell, a Costa Mesa businessman who visits Uganda twice a year to set up similar systems, the system is an incredible addition to a rapidly expanding campus farm. This particular aquaponic system was originally designed as a test model to demonstrate the sustainability and ease of setting up aquaponics in areas where conventional horticulture is dubious. The pumps maintaining the aquaponic system are powered by the recently installed solar panel array on the farm, which supplies the majority of their energy and makes for a nearly entirely self-sustaining, closed system.
A newly planted raised bed in the middle of an irrigation cycle
Equally or even more meaningful are the system’s ability to produce healthy, abundant produce and the opportunity for learning that its sheer presence affords. Many horticultural topics such as carbon footprint and eating locally are demonstrated more easily with a live system such as this. The simple system is composed of a box and hole, lined and sealed, that recycles both water and nutrients, all while reducing the amount of space and outside resources needed to grow. This means growing food is more efficient and less waste is produced, and the overall affordability and ease of setup means they can be constructed nearly anywhere. The aquaponic raised garden also presents the unique opportunity for Biola to become its own Fish to Fork provider! The partially submerged tilapia tanks require only slight modifications to facilitate breeding. Though the student gardeners haven’t taken the system that far yet, the growth and energy of the garden and its student caretakers point strongly to the possibility.
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from the fellows | alyse festenstein, midwest fellow
bon appetit foundation
reintegrating values back into the food industry
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rom the time I made my first delivery of salad greens to the Bon Appétit kitchen at Washington University in St. Louis, I knew there was something different about this company.
I remember standing one afternoon in the dining hall, dirtstained and sticky with sweat, while two chefs rummaged through the basket of greens from the Burning Kumquat studentrun farm and tasted our product. “It’s good!” they said. I let out a premature sigh of relief, but we were not in the clear yet. One of the chefs picked up the handful of tomatoes that we had thrown in as a bonus. “And what do you think we are going to do with all of these?” he asked, smiling. I could tell it was the beginnings of a friendship. Over the past four years as a student farmer at Washington University in St. Louis, I developed a relationship with the Bon Appétit team that was a bit atypical. Resident District Manager Nadeem Siddiqui was a frequent guest at late-night farm meetings and potlucks. Jill Duncan, Wash U’s then–marketing manager, came over to our student cooperative one summer afternoon to make blueberry jam. I even took Nadeem’s dogs, Hoover and Dyson, on walks in the park. I did not think of Bon Appétit as merely our campus food service provider or university staff — they were all like family. Through my relationships, I began to realize what it 66 | BRAVO
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is that makes Bon Appétit stand apart from the competition: the company is sincere in its actions and goals. The Wash U team’s tireless support of the Burning Kumquat, commitment to growing the capacity of St. Louis’s local farms, and ever-expanding sustainability initiatives showed me that this work is not just about marketing and PR. This is something much more deeply rooted. This is the result of living, breathing values at work. Remarkably, it’s not just the Washington University team that exudes these values. Over the past few years, I tuned in to TEDxManhattan presentations by Vice President of Strategy Maisie Ganzler on Bon Appétit’s humane initiatives and work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. In my new role as the Midwest Fellow, I have heard stories about our CEO Fedele Bauccio telling Maisie that the company needs to move further and faster, while she has to explain the constraints of current supply. Such anecdotes remind me that passion, not solely profit, drives purchasing decisions. As a student of cultural anthropology, I have always been skeptical of a corporation’s ability to create change and social value. Yet I can now say that I have found an exception. When my hands were not deep in the soil in college, I spent much of my time in the economics and anthropology departments exploring ideas of value and driven by questions such
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As a student of cultural anthropology, I have always been skeptical of a corporation’s ability to create change and social value. Yet I can now say that I have found an exception.
as these: How do different cultures conceptualize value and measure it? What foundational beliefs drive these systems? What happens when they come into conflict? Most of my economics professors told me that the greatest social value could be obtained if we make certain assumptions about human behavior. To create accurate models, we have to assume the world is composed of autonomous individuals who only want to maximize and smooth consumption over time. The anthropologists doubted this approach and shared ethnographies of exploitative international development projects and Marxist theory.
program and Fair Trade purchasing. At every level of our operations, people recognize the enormity of the work ahead, and they are not going to rest until it is done.
The antagonistic nature of my studies helped me to see that not all values can be accounted for in our economic calculations. Conflict arises when policy makers and corporations choose to dismiss that. The unsustainable global food industry is just one example of this choice. The vast majority of players have pushed aside the value of our topsoil, the lives of farmworkers, and rural economies to support efficiency and bigger profits — it has been economic value over all else. I see Bon Appétit as a real game changer in this system, and that is why I feel so honored to be a part of the team as the Midwest Fellow. This is a company with a sincere drive to reintegrate other values like environmental sustainability, animal welfare, and labor rights back into the food industry’s equation, through programs like the Low Carbon Diet
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events...in brief
The Target team looking good in tie-dye
Sliders made with grass-fed Thousand Hills Cattle Company beef
Target Plaza Commons Hosts Summer Intern Gala
Internship programs are a great way for college students to learn real-world skills while benefiting the companies that invest in them. Target in Minneapolis recognized the value of its college interns and said good-bye with a huge thank-you party for the interns and their mentors. The 800-guest event sponsored by the Talent Acquisition department felt like the event of the summer, and Bon Appétit saw it as a chance to highlight Farm to Fork partners with creative bite-size offerings. Thousand Hills Cattle Company beef sliders with caramelized onion steak sauce and Ferndale Market turkey sliders with Tex-Mex avocado sauce were huge hits, along with locally grown corn on the cob. Petite strawberry shortcakes, watermelon pops, and nostalgic ice cream novelties served from Target-branded ice cream freezers were also popular at the retro-themed event with tie-dye and bull’s-eyes. Even the passed summer relish cups and cheese quesadillas with black bean salsa followed the bull’s-eye theme with bull’s-eye cups, red and white paper boats, and red and white paper straws for the old-fashioned glass-bottled flavored sodas. A tent with jumbo bean bags for fun seating, a variety of lawn games, large wooden spools with galvanized soda tubs on top of them, and a DJ with great party music under a big tent rounded out all the summer party offerings. The interns closed their summer in full Target style. Submitted by Kathy Vik, Operations Manager
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Black bean and cheese quesadillas
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A loving couple held their wedding ceremony on the front steps of the Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland Museum of Art Hosts World-Class Wedding
Photo credit: Genevieve Nisly Photography
Pulling off a flawless and memorable wedding is a major feat even for old hands, so the first at a new venue can be a challenge. Director of Catering Sherri Schultz and her team at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland rose to one couple’s special occasion and the first wedding to be handled by Bon Appétit at the new site. The ceremony was held on the south terrace overlooking Wade lagoon. Guests were treated to passed hors d’oeuvres as well as a Mediterranean market-style food station accompanying a cocktail reception inside. A plated sit-down dinner followed in the sweeping glass atrium. Among the highlights were a Bibb lettuce salad with preserved citrus and creamy leek vinaigrette and olive oil–poached halibut with chimichurri sauce. Guests danced the night away under the twinkling night sky. The evening was capped with a savory dessert station featuring assorted chopped chocolates and a “naked” wedding cake (a cake without icing on the outside). The beautiful wedding was a wonderful event success — so the team looks forward to being entrusted with more of these important events! Submitted by Beth Kretschmar, Marketing Manager The tables are set for a special day for all
Savor Idaho Event Promotes “Farm to Street”
Savor Idaho
Although street food is a way of life in other countries and holds much appeal to travelers, it’s fairly rare in Idaho. But it’s gaining in popularity, and the fifth annual Savor Idaho event drew a crowd of about 600. Local participation is strong for this lovely summer event, which enables guests to stroll through the beautiful Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise and visit a myriad of local food vendors, as well as booths representing wineries, breweries, and artisan crafts. The Bon Appétit team at the College of Idaho in Caldwell, ID, pulled off Korean fusion street tacos with the help of partners 24 West Ranch’s grass-fed flank steak and Sunnyslope’s poultry. Staff plated the beef tacos with kimchi (made with local cabbage), pickled carrots, and grilled spring onions, and the Korean barbecue grilled chicken with pickled asparagus, onion relish, and tomatillo salsa with cilantro and lime. Guests loved experiencing through Savor Idaho how truly diverse Idaho’s agricultural offerings are amid a lovely backdrop. Submitted by Crystal Rideau, General Manager
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events...in brief
Michael Jordan Flight School Leaps Through Another Year at Tropicana Gardens
SAS Throws Launch Celebration Bash
It’s not often that a celebratory small lunch turns into an epic party for hundreds. But that’s exactly what happened this summer when SAS in Cary, NC, decided to celebrate the launch of its business analytics software, SAS 9.4. Originally SAS managers had requested Bon Appétit catering for a small group of hardworking employees who’d been taking the product from design to implementation over 18 months, and the plan was simple: pizza and beer. But on short notice, the catering team was asked to increase numbers and add ice cream to the menu of fun treats. Now the managers wanted to thank their entire research and development teams, and a bash was born.
Basketball star Michael Jordan’s celebrity status has been drawing hundreds of kids every summer to “flight school” — a.k.a. basketball camp — for more than two decades. The staff at Tropicana Gardens and Tropicana Del Norte in Goleta, CA, love the energy of the well-attended camp, the happy kids, and the repeat faces of returning coaches each year. (Getting to have their picture taken with Michael Jordan is a nice bonus, too.) Over two sessions in 11 days, the team at Tropicana hosts and feeds more than 900 boys and girls, ages 7 to 18. Camp attendees come to seriously learn Michael Jordan’s skills in a competitive environment but also to have fun. The Bon Appétit team supports the kids by providing three healthy and delicious meals each day and meeting special dietary concerns. The kids are working out a lot, so the goals are to keep a lot of fresh fruit around, fully stock the salad bar, and create tasty meals that keep their energy levels up. It worked! Feedback from attendees was glowing about the food; one coach sent a note describing his experience as like“going to a restaurant for every meal.” He added that “everything I tried was delicious…I think I ate 5 lbs of watermelon every day. This college is so fortunate to have you.” The Tropicana Gardens team disagrees — they feel like the lucky ones! Submitted by Jeremy Glennon, General Manager
Special cupcakes celebrating the launch
The Atrium Café at SAS opened with Bon Appétit at the helm in January 2013. Since then, the average lunch participation has been about 1,000 guests per day. But on 9.4’s Launch Day, with the client treating the R&D team to lunch, the café staff served an additional 554 people at lunch, plus 800 people at an afternoon pizza party! Teamwork was what really made it all magical. The catering team was happy to be in partnership with a company that shows appreciation for its staff. And SAS Corporate Services offered logistical support as the launch events grew and changed. Elizabeth Simmonds, Bon Appétit resident district manager, brought café support from the SAS Marketplace Café next door, and everyone rolled up their sleeves and produced a wonderful Bon Appétit experience. The level of cooperation was phenomenal all around! Submitted by Katheldra Pinder, General Manager
Shooting with the star (top row): Pablo Segundo, cook; Mike Bowrin, server; Cole Mcwhirter, server; David Silva, server; Pulido Abel, dishwasher; Hector Lopez, server; Max Krohn, cashier; Clay Krebs, server; Laura Yorba, cashier; Carlos Arrendondo, dishwasher; Gerrardo Miranda, cook; and Bayron Lara, cook. Bottom row: Lourdes Paniagua, cook; Camille Permar, cashier; Michael Jordan; Janet Rivera, server; and Marita McSweeney, server
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Catering/Café Supervisor Maria Gonzalez and Barista Adriana Gonzalez
Bon Appétit Catering Puts Brains into Google Think Events
As it has grown and evolved, tech giant Google has stayed focused on being a home for innovation. One way it nurtures this important asset is through events such as its quarterly Think meetings, which host executives from various companies for all-day educational panels at Google’s home campus in Mountain View, CA. The Bon Appétit catering team loves handling these quarterly happenings, which have swelled into glamorous affairs for 300 people with ever more options.
BD Biosciences Summer Intern Social
Hosting a party with great food is one of the best ways to show appreciation for a job well done. To say farewell to its last crop of interns, BD Biosciences asked Bon Appétit to help them say bon voyage. The staff made miniature stuffed mushrooms with pine nuts; grilled and baked eggplant drizzled with California olive oil; chicken, beef, and lamb kabobs; and assorted tea sandwiches. Also on the menu: a panzanellastyle salad with arugula, an Israeli couscous salad, deviled cage-free eggs, and miniature cornbread bites. The casual yet fresh and delicious fare was topped off with an assorted dessert bar. Interns felt appreciated, indeed! Submitted by Chris Lassettre, Executive Chef/General Manager
Googlers and external guests spend the day from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. brainstorming and sharing ideas, and Bon Appétit provides the fuel along the way, not missing a beat from planning to execution and rolling along smoothly with location changes. After Catering Manager Megan Croom learns what the theme of the event is and what Google’s requests are, the catering team snaps into action like a well-oiled machine. Catering Coordinator Ed Leigey places orders for items that need to be brought in. Catering Administrator Martha Contreras handles everything with Facilities, while Catering Supervisor Joe Espinola makes sure that all of the rentals that have arrived are as ordered. Magically, Catering Chef Malachi Harland works wonders with unusual requests, such as for edible crudités with edible dirt and ranch dressing to be poured out of watering cans. He always comes up with interesting and even more delicious ways to present what the client is looking for. Quad Catering Manager Christine McMillan takes over the reception portion of the event with Malachi. The catering team challenges itself to match the creativity and ideas of the Google Think events through the food, drink, and facilities. It’s truly amazing how successful the days are, with so many hands on deck communicating, organizing, cooking, confirming, preparing, and building. “We are a family in catering, and have each other’s best interests at hand and take pride in helping each other out,” says Megan. “I am proud to call these people my team.” Submitted by Megan Croom, Catering Manager
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Art Institute of Chicago Sails Through Busy Summer Submitted by Jennifer McDonald, Marketing Manager
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s summer heated up in Chicago, so did the catering kitchen at the Art Institute of Chicago. Fortunately the staff knows how to keep cool, as well as plan beautiful and creative events. Here are a few summer
inclement weather and logistics of the event, the team remained true to Bon Appétit’s standards. The highlight of the fest was watching team members from front of house, back of house, and senior management come together and work side by side to pull off an amazing event!
The Art Institute of Chicago’s Woman’s Board celebrated the opening of the highly anticipated Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity exhibition at its annual gala, where 550 guests enjoyed Executive Chef Tony Mantuano’s spectacular menu. The guests nibbled on passed hors d’oeuvres such as bouillabaisse shooters with mussels as they admired the beauty of the exhibition. The dinner in Griffin Court started with a summer truffle salad with heirloom tomatoes, upland cress, and aged Comté cheese; spring pea crostini; and goat cheese–lavender honey crostini and continued in a similar French-inspired theme. Due to the prestige and notoriety of this gala, it was an all-hands-on-deck event. The Bon Appétit team, led by Internal Account Manager Alicia Faulkner, pulled together to ensure it was a seamless execution and a grand success.
MARTINI MONDAYS: This fun tradition was more successful than
highlights. WOMAN’S BOARD GALA:
GREEN CITY MARKET CHEF BBQ: Chicagoans love their Green City Market Chef BBQ Benefit, held annually in July in Lincoln Park. Green City Market is a magnificent marketplace and education center for local, sustainable food that connects farmers and local producers directly to chefs and the greater Chicago community. This event showcases more than 100 restaurants grilling to benefit the 12-year-old nonprofit market. Terzo Piano’s Chef di Cucina Megan Neubeck served up delicious goat barbacoa sliders made with ingredients from market farmers Nichols Farm, Catalpa Grove, and Majestic Nursery.
Barista Tamara Zapata and Hostess Wendy Castaneda helping out at the pop-up booth for Taste of Chicago
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TASTE OF CHICAGO: Another hotly anticipated Chicago culinary event is the Taste of Chicago. Terzo Piano at the Art Institute participated with a two-day pop-up booth during the five-day fest. The menu featured lamb burgers with coleslaw and pickles, whitefish puree, house-made fries, and Terzo Piano’s signature peanut-butter semifreddo on a stick. Despite the difficulty of the
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ever this year. The first Martini Monday of 2013 kicked off at Piano Terra in the North Garden, where guests enjoyed live jazz, martinis, and passed hors d’oeuvres such as mini Asian beef salad cups and artichoke and cheese filo rolls with lemon aioli. South Garden’s jazz night hosted the largest turnout to date: Chicago jazz legend Judy Roberts joined the band for a rare performance; guests could stroll through Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity; and the hors d’oeuvres included tarragon crab salad with crème fraîche on an endive leaf for a refreshingly sophisticated summer treat.
Guests enjoying live jazz and hors d’oeuvres on Martini Monday
SEAFOOD ON THE PIAZZA COOKING DEMO: Every few months, Terzo Piano hosts themed cooking demonstrations for its guests. Making its debut on the Bluhm Family Terrace, Seafood on the Piazza was led by Chef di Cucina Megan Neubeck and Executive Chef Jason Gorman, paired with wine hand-picked by Cathy Mantuano, wine consultant. The menu consisted of gazpacho, a lobster roll, a shrimp boil, and for dessert, chiffon cake. This sold-out event welcomed 60 guests to the sunlit terrace for the seafood feast.
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Dinner in Griffin Court for the Woman’s Board Gala
Chef di Cucina Megan Neubeck holding up a lobster during the Seafood on the Piazza cooking demo
Tuna niçoise salad
Brioche chicken paillard
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eBay Summer Was Refreshingly Educational Submitted by Luis Villagrana, Assistant General Manager
St. Mary’s College Throws Successful Second Wellness Culinary Demonstration Submitted by Peggy Aud, Catering Director
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he Bon Appétit team at eBay in San Jose, CA, gave guests an entertaining and educational summer through some carnival-themed pop-ups. Assistant General Manager Luis Villagrana enticed eBay employees visiting cafés or strolling across the campus by erecting tables and tents that celebrated offbeat food holidays centered around seasonal produce and culinary delights. Guests loved the sweet fruit concoctions and the educational anecdotes that followed the carnival barker shouts.
Everyone who walked by the National Watermelon Day table in eBay Café 10 received tasty samples, learned how to pick a ripe and tasty watermelon out, and how to creatively use this summer favorite fruit with recipes. Did you know, for instance, that the proper way to select a great watermelon is not to thump it, but to choose one that is heavy for its size and symmetrically shaped? And/or with a yellow spot on the bottom, indicating that the melon sat on the ground to ripen in the sun, not on a shelf? Luis and Cashier Yesenia Arroyo prepared non-alcoholic watermelon-basil mojitos and watermelon aguas frescas. Each cup was served with frozen golden and red watermelon. And did you know the first documented lemonade stands were introduced in 1873 by Edward Bok in Brooklyn? eBay guests learned this and more about vitamin C on National Lemonade Day. Guests who wished to cool off from the heat and summer sun could seek refuge under tents and choose from three varieties of fresh lemonade: strawberry, watermelon, and plain (lemon). The refreshing drinks went down with both enthusiasm and new knowledge, amid entertaining backdrops.
Cashier Yesenia Arroyo was excited to show her love for watermelon
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he joys of summer are nearly endless: the smell of BBQ, family and friends enjoying time spent together, ice cream, tomatoes right from the garden. Extending that summer theme into health and wellness felt natural for the management team at St. Mary’s College of Maryland in St. Mary’s City, MD. For its second annual Wellness Culinary Demonstration aimed at the college faculty and staff, the hot summer topics were “Fire and Smoke — A Summer Celebration of Rubs, Sauces, Smoking, and Grilling” and “The Best of Southern Maryland Farms.” Guests enjoyed an informative lecture followed by a delicious tasting of all foods prepared. Heirloom tomatoes fresh picked from a garden at very nearby Even’ Star Organic Farm with a light sprinkle of kosher salt became a simple amuse bouche. House-made focaccia bread served as the vehicle for some amazing tomato bruschetta. The main entrée of the day, dryrubbed pork tenderloin with cherry compote, was served with a side of flageolet beans mixed lightly with orange and fresh fennel seeds. Guests loved the interaction with David Martin, the new executive chef, and they had many questions for him about the Farm to Fork program and procuring the best cuts of lean meat. The event was a success, and it has prompted additional learning demonstrations for all students who wish to cook their own meals while living on campus.
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Iranian Leadership Camp Tops Summer Conferences at Whittier College Submitted by Lucille Alcaraz, Director of Operations
Thank-you card from a student at Broadoaks elementary school
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hanks to sports groups, conferences, and local community schoolchildren tours, the staff at Whittier College in Whittier, CA, had a jam-packed summer. Whittier hosted people from more than 11 countries, including Russia, Turkey, Brazil, Venezuela, and Sweden. The diversity of cultures impressed and invigorated the staff — and the compliments didn’t hurt. When expressing her thanks to Executive Chef Miguel Cuenca and the staff, the leader of the Russian group admitted sheepishly that she’d thought she would lose weight while at the three-week conference, but she gained a little instead — and felt it was well worth it. The biggest conference that Whittier hosted — a group of 175 — was Camp Ayandeh, an Iranian group of high school through college freshmen leaders. Because the religious holiday Ramadan fell during the conference, the group leader asked whether a special cultural dinner could be possible before the start of the religious holiday, which includes fasting during daytime hours. Of course, Miguel and Sous Chef Frank Guerra obliged and created a special menu. Miguel and Frank presented a beautiful plate sampling from Iranian and Persian food culture representing authentic taste and texture combinations. Highlights included kuku sabzi (fresh herb frittata), rotisserie Persian leg of lamb with fresh herbs, and chicken kebabs with yogurt cucumber dip. The attendees were grateful, and even Director of Conferences George McKernan sent his “compliments to [the staff ] and the chefs” after finding out that the dinner was the highlight of the day for many campers. As with every year, summer comes and goes along with conference groups. But this summer felt particularly memorable, both for how much the groups enjoyed their café experience and for how much the staff enjoyed serving them.
The Broadoaks junior kids thank the Campus Inn staff at Whittier
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University of Redlands Reflects on a Year of Celebrating Diversity Submitted by Susan Martinez, Operations Manager
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he University of Redlands in Redlands, CA, asked its Bon Appétit team to help celebrate the extensive diversity of the student body and highlight some of the student organizations. And throughout the year, they had fun doing so — creatively.
The first opportunity came with Eid Mubarak, a Muslim holiday commemorating the end of Ramadan. Bon Appétit staff served a Middle Eastern dinner of Arabian beef with rice, spanakopita tarts, hummus, and pita chips while students (and the Bon Appétiters) learned about the basic beliefs of the Muslim community, as well as the significance of this holiday about celebrating the completion of a month of blessings and joy. Next, the campus held its annual Diwali Dinner, celebrating the Hindu religious holiday and the culture of India. Diwali marks one of the biggest celebrations in India and is also known as the festival of lights. A savory dinner of chicken balti, chickpeas stewed with tomato, samosas, aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry), and more was coupled with dance performances, presentations, and henna tattoos. The Native American Heritage Event, meanwhile, showcased the vibrant Native American culture at the University of Redlands and the new Native American Student Program sponsored by San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. Nora Pulskamp, a member of the Navajo nation who supports the educational journey in Native American Student Programs, joined Executive Chef Marc Powers and his team to make the perfect traditional fry bread. Served simply with honey butter, the fry bread was enjoyed by all. The “Real Thanksgiving Dinner” event provided a more accurate account of the history of 76 | BRAVO
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Thanksgiving than is in most textbooks. Transporting everyone back in time (culinarily) to 1621, the Bon Appétit team served an authentic meal as the students learned how the Native American communities of the Northeast helped the pilgrims survive the first harvest and winter. The menu: Heritage free-range turkeys, Algonquin wild nut root vegetable soup, and butternut squash. The very popular event provided entertainment by local Aztec dancers. At the Equinox Remix SemiFormal Dance & Dinner Party, students mingled as they enjoyed delicious appetizers and their favorite: chocolatecovered strawberries. The Alumni House Lawn was transformed into a dance floor under the stars. For the Hawaiian Club’s Tenth Annual Luau, Bon Appétit served a Hawaiian spread of Kalua pig, shoyu chicken, Spam musubi, and traditional guava cake, while members of the club and the University of Redlands community danced for the crowd. The Jewish Student Union/ Hillel sponsored the annual Passover Seder event, which provided an educational forum where both dinner and tradition were celebrated and observed by students of the Jewish faith and outside community attendees. As stories of liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt were read by attendees, Bon Appétit plated such traditional foods as charoset and house-made gefilte fish and ladled up matzo ball soup. Throughout the year, Bon Appétit puts out amazing arrays of food amid ceremonies, beautiful rituals, and simple celebrations. Team members and students got to learn about other cultures and practice kindness and respect.
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Macalester College Team Keeps Busy for Summer Submitted by Leah Thomas, Director of Catering, and Laura Mattson, Catering Manager
S
chool may have been out for summer at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN, but the Bon Appétit team was busier than ever. The catering folks pulled together for some favorite Bon Appétit activities, such as volunteering and hosting a conference and a wedding. The team was very proud to cater the first-ever wedding held outside on the Old Main Lawn of Macalester College. Dave Deno, president of the board of trustees at Macalester College, and his fiancée, Susan Weber, were so impressed by Macalester’s commencement services that they approached Bon Appétit about catering what was supposed to be a small wedding to be held a month later. The couple requested a simple, intimate reception, but as anyone in events knows, simple is never simple! The catering pros made it through storms, blown-away tents, and muddy fields to get the beautiful event off the ground. They built a “floor” and a kitchen outside and reset the tent twice — rolling with the challenges of a Minnesota outdoor wedding. The menu included carved tenderloin with red wine demi-glace, “bang bang” shrimp, and Caesar salads served in martini glasses. With guests including the president of the college, alumni, and board members, this was a highprofile wedding. The team rose to the occasion and put out the best food, service, and decor yet, and is ready for similar future challenges.
In fact, they immediately rolled their collective sleeves back up and jumped right into hosting a weeklong conference for the National Cooperative Grocers Association. One of the focuses of this group is to offer a Farm to Fork approach to co-op grocery and to educate about the importance of local and organic food. The Bon Appétiters were pleased to showcase the company’s sustainable practices at the kickoff dinner for 300 participants. At several stations throughout the ballroom, including a carved tenderloin station with grilled portabella mushrooms, a Thai wok station, and a gourmet salad station, guests responded positively to the educational signage and were generous with compliments on the food. Then the team switched gears to host a Cooks for Kids event through the Ronald McDonald House. The goal of the program is to provide “home-cooked” meals for the families staying at the house while their children are receiving treatment for life-threatening illnesses. The team designed a menu for and served about 75 people at a big brunch starring a roasted vegetable strata and ham-and-cheese egg bake, trays of fruit salad, savory salad, baked goods, and more. It’s hard to say who was more grateful, the guests or the team for the chance to nourish them. Macalester’s Bon Appétiters plan to return twice yearly to continue sharing the benefits of a from-scratch meal.
ABOVE:
Director of Catering Leah Thomas (in black) and Sous Chef Matt Weed with some of the back-ofhouse crew as they plate up “bang bang” shrimp
Café Manager Betty Kirkpatrick and Cashier Janet Washington, ready and excited to serve the families at a Cooks for Kids event
LEFT: Cook Jeremy Hainey preparing chicken and yakisoba noodle stir-fry for conference guests as they travel from station to station
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New and Redesigned Campus Dining Brings Flair at Johns Hopkins
openings & makeovers IT’S BEEN A BUSY SEASON FOR BON APPÉTIT TEAMS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. A BIG, HEARTFELT THANK-YOU TO THE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE WHO SPENT THOUSANDS OF HOURS AND PULLED ALL-NIGHTERS TO FINISH SIGNAGE, UNBOX SMALLWARES, AND SCRUB DOWN SALAD BARS FOR GRAND OPENINGS AND/OR REOPENINGS!
Char Mar’s new offerings include fresh produce and healthy bulk foods
Big changes greeted students arriving for the fall semester at Johns Hopkins University’s urban Homewood campus in Baltimore, MD. Bon Appétit launched its dining operations for this prestigious East Coast school this summer, and in doing so, reinvented them. The dining program at Homewood is unusual in that there is only one all-you-care-to-eat facility (since only freshmen are required to carry a full meal plan), and the campus houses three retail or declining balance locations. One of the retail locations is a concept called Charles Street Market. The “Char Mar” got a huge face-lift after being stripped to the studs by the Regional Operations Support team. It’s now designed in the style of a charming 1920s grocery. Good-bye to the walls of potato chips and refrigerated cases for bottled water; hello wooden display shelves, subway tiles, and bulk bins for fresh produce. The extended hours, some days stretching from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m., more than accommodate all schedules. This food emporium features two unique café concepts and a full grocery highlighting many local and artisan goods. It is particularly notable that one of the mini-cafés housed in Char Mar is fully stocked and supported by Farm to Fork partner Stone Mill Bakery and Gelato. The Market at Levering also got revamped for the fall. This popular lunch-only venue now has three new concepts for its five food stations: hand-rolled sushi, Asian-style made-toorder noodle bowls, and Lunch Box, which offers soup-saladsandwich combinations with salads tossed to order. Another new addition, rolling up to and around campus, is the hotly anticipated mobile kitchen housed in a custom VW bus shell. The cute blue and white minibus changes locations weekly, its location trackable on Twitter, and offers a rotating menu of tantalizing street foods from burgers and tacos to noodle dishes.
Pulled pork, croquettes, steamed broccoli, and stuffed bell peppers
Bon Appétit Executive Chef Robert Lavoie (formerly at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI) and General Manager Ty Paup (a chef/manager formerly at University of Maryland at Shady Grove and Goucher College in the Baltimore area) are excited about the challenge of pleasing this sophisticated student body. Submitted By Andy Tzortzinis, Marketing Manager
The mobile kitchen is creating quite the buzz in the Johns Hopkins community
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Service, Food, and Experience Are What’s on the Docket for Saint Louis University School of Law
What do you get when you cross a university café with a neighborhood bistro? Why, the Docket, a new restaurant Bon Appétit created for Saint Louis University’s School of Law! The birth of the Docket, located in the heart of the legal community near the courthouse in downtown St. Louis, involved a lengthy interview process that focused on experience, but more so on personality and attitude. The resulting space is casually hip, welcoming a range of patrons from law students to law enforcement with high-end service and menu. From Executive Chef Patrick Thrower to Dishwasher Antonio Sanders, each associate wears the same beige chef ’s coat, offering uniformity and encouraging guests to approach anyone roaming the restaurant with these clothes for assistance or feedback.
Roger Williams University Gets Retail Revamp
The Docket offers grab-and-go breakfast and lunch options for those on the run at the café, as well as a casual dining experience in the restaurant that features mostly Mediterranean cuisine. The most popular menu items are the Roman-style thin-crust, wood-fired pizzas, which are served with a pair of scissors. The hint of the oak wood burning in the oven imparts a distinct and unusual flavor, and the scissors give guests the opportunity to play with their food and have an experience.
It was out with the old and in with the new at Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI, with the transformation of the Lower Commons, the main Bon Appétit retail café. Last semester dining managers, along with client and food committee input, made the decision to close the Quiznos — one of the five stations in the Lower Commons — and replace it with a Bon Appétit deli. The new deli needed a name, so the team called on students. Hawk’s Deli was the clear winner.
The feedback has been amazingly positive. Since the August opening, the Docket has been covered in Alive magazine, the University News, Food Talk STL, the Riverfront Times, Ladue News, and more. The energy is wonderful, enhanced by the city’s only all-day happy hour specials on drinks, including local beers.
The summer break allowed the team to plan an enticing menu of house-roasted meats, local cheeses, artisanal breads, and house-made sauces and toppings; sort through smallwares; and hash out equipment. Additionally, the area got cleared out for a snazzy redesign and upgrade. It now sports a beautiful Wood Stone oven, a deli case to display premade sandwiches, and a cherry wood facade and black granite countertops that certainly make the food pop! An entire wall of the café got a redesign too. The old Coca-Cola fountain machine was replaced with a more modern Coca-Cola Freestyle machine that allows the students to design up to 125 different varieties of sodas. Finally, two shelving units house high-quality, high-nutrition prepackaged retail items provided by a student startup. Retail goods include a nice selection of health foods that include gluten-free, vegetarian, kosher, fair-trade, organic, dairy-free, and vegan subsets.
Submitted by Jorge Rama, General Manager
The team was really excited to offer all these upgrades to students for the new school year, and returning students welcomed the changes. Submitted by Stephanie Keith, Controller/Marketing Manager
House-baked cranberry muffins that guests can grab at the Docket’s café
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Openings and Several Refreshes in NorCal
In Bon Appétit’s Northern California region, there’s no rest for the weary. In between the many spring and fall openings came several café refreshes and two new corporate accounts. YAHOO!
Almost a year after transitioning operations to a fully subsidized program, the Yahoo! team introduced new café concepts across campus. Before the switch, almost all of the on-campus cafés offered similar food programs. Over the course of one crazy weekend, the Yahoo! team in Sunnyvale reimagined their cafés as unique dining destinations. Now Yahoo! employees are only a short walk away from any of a number of specific food concepts, including an Asian barbecue and noodle bar, a taqueria, lunch classics, and masala. TWITTER
Like many Bay Area technology companies, Twitter continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Always up for a challenge, the Bon Appétit team there recently expanded operations in the only way one can in a city like San Francisco — up! Located high above Market Street, Twitter’s new mini-café and dining areas, named #theperch, is a clever nod to both the Twitter brand and the café’s location up a short flight of stairs. #theperch features a daily changing theme menu. Recent themes have included heirloom tomatoes, foods that begin with the letter A, and a Peruvian party. Twitter employees, a.k.a. Tweeps, delight in the whimsical, daily changing menu themes at #theperch
The Sony Playstation opening team. Back row: Sam Burkett, Sony Playstation general manager; Francela Soriano, Adobe - San Jose barista; Sylvia Mora, Sony Playstation lead cashier; Whitney Lucero, Sony Playstation catering lead; Dalila Orozco, Sony Playstation cashier; Luis Ayala, Stanford Graduate School of Business line cook; Phil Lee, Sony Playstation line cook; Daniel Williams, Adobe - San Francisco sous chef; Robert Gee, Sony Playstation sous chef; and Erik Siquenza, Sony Playstation line cook Front row: Elizabeth Herrera, Stanford GSB cashier; Dulce Garcia, Sony Playstation cashier; Elias Garcias, Adobe - San Jose line cook; Paul O’Brien, Sony Playstation executive chef; Rajesh Selvarathnam, Sony Playstation Indian chef de cuisine; Eric Barragnan, Sony Playstation line cook; and Matt Dark, VMware executive chef
SONY PLAYSTATION
Sony Playstation, helmed by General Manager Sam Burkett and Executive Chef Paul O’Brien, opened in San Mateo. During the opening, guests were treated to an heirloom tomato tasting and Farm to Fork strawberry giveaway, as well as a menu replete with summer’s bounty. With a full-service café, coffee and espresso bar, and a reservations-only dining area, it’s no surprise that participation of the excited population has been more than 100 percent! SAP
With a fresh look, new furniture and smallwares, and a reimagined food program, SAP’s recently refreshed Café 8 in Palo Alto is already delighting guests. The food program highlights guest favorites, while digital signage and rusticmeets-urban furniture lend a trendy vibe. Café 8’s location among Palo Alto’s verdant hills means that diners are treated to views of grazing horses from the café’s many windows. Submitted by Shannon Hulley, Marketing Manager
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The remodeled dining room features tables and chairs made from reclaimed wood
Electronic Arts Gets Major Expansion
When guests at Electronic Arts in Redwood City, CA, were served in festival-style tents for the expansion and remodel of the Commons Café this summer, they may have thought the operation was a circus. But upon closer inspection, they saw no Bon Appétit staff clowning around as they delivered thousands of meals out of refrigeration, freezer, and storage pods and carted supplies across parking lots. Once the Atrium Café began its remodel, the Commons Café made space to accommodate its Sushi, Noodle, and Indian stations. Then, during the Commons remodel, the temporary food service began in the tents, where the Taqueria, Expo, and Classics stations were housed. When the Commons Café reopened in September, its expanded salad bar, new pizza station, and the rotisserie chicken addition to Classics were huge hits. Guests were able to feast their eyes as well on stunning new furniture. New dining tables from a San Francisco-based company were made from reclaimed woods or natural woods that are Forest Stewardship Council certified. The millwork, cashier stands, and tables with casters and metal bands were also all made from reclaimed materials. Guests were wowed, and all agreed that the beautiful,expanded facilities were worth the wait — and the parking lot tents! Submitted by James Whinery, General Manager
LinkedIn’s New Corporate Café Opens to Rave Reviews
As Silicon Valley has grown, so have employees’ expectations for lunch. LinkedIn, the professional social networking company in Mountain View, CA, had experimented with guest chefs and restaurant-delivered meals before connecting to Bon Appétit’s similar health and wellness values, and a partnership was born. “Food programs create avenues that enable employees to become more knowledgeable about the food they eat and good nutrition habits,” says LinkedIn Food & Beverage Program Manager Joe Peterson (known affectionately as “FooDini”), describing his vision.“They also benefit the company by creating efficiencies and collaboration opportunities that might not otherwise exist.”
Antipasti and composed salad bar
Joe’s stated goals were to “nourish the minds of the people who connect the world’s top professionals,” as well as help influence nutrition and eating habits inside and outside of work. Bon Appétiters worked tirelessly with the LinkedIn Culinary Crew (LinkedIn’s food team) to put everything together. The new café at LinkedIn, named InCafé, is clean and modern with rich, warm accents — an inviting combination. Executive Chef Dale Ray, a new Bon Appétit hire, brings an equally elegant vision to the menu. The program is 100 percent subsidized/free for the employees and visitors at LinkedIn. Bon Appétit is honored to work with LinkedIn to deliver worldclass food service. Submitted by Michael O’Neil, General Manager
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BON APPÉTIT EDUCATION TEAMS OFFERED
Back to School with Bon Appétit
HANDS-ON EDUCATION AND TEAM-BUILDING ACTIVITIES, PLUS NEW PROGRAMS TO DELIGHT STUDENTS.
…at University of Portland, Portland, OR
...at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
During the school year, thousands of students zoom through the dining commons for daily meals, sometimes inhaled in minutes. Before the fall semester started in earnest, the Bon Appétit team at the University of Portland decided to give some influential students a hands-on, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to put a meal together. They enlisted 36 campus resident assistants to help make the dinnertime meal for the 200 athletes and other early arrivals on campus.
The Houston Market team at the University of Pennsylvania looked to Asia for inspiration for its newest concept: Market Noodles! Mere weeks into the new school year, the new menu launched to eager palates. According to Sky Strouth, director of retail dining, the focus of Market Noodles is to provide large- and small-format noodles, rice, and dim-sum-style cuisine that focuses on modern and classic ethnic foods from China, Japan, Thailand, Korea, and Vietnam.
Students helped with prep, presentation, serving, and even cleanup. The menu featured hand-tossed pizzas, pasta sautés, slider grill specials, stir-fry and composed salads, and for dessert, Northwest berry shortcakes and brownie sundaes. “Celebrity judges” — Father William Beauchamp, the University’s president; Father Mark Poorman, executive vice president; Father Ed Obermiller, special assistant to the vice president; and Brenda Greiner, director of the freshman resource center — were on hand to give feedback to the teams on presentation, taste, and creativity. Every student-cook was a winner and received a free pie. The students got a great sense of who the staff is and what it takes each day for them to nourish the hungry crowds, something they can pass on to their undergraduate advisees. While the event was primarily educational, it produced great camaraderie and a wonderful orientation for students new and old at the start of the year.
Regional ramen from Japan and Vietnamese pho are the highlights of the broth-based noodle entrées on the menu, with rotating specials that will feature jjigae (Korean stews and soups),Thai tom yum (hot and sour soup), and Singaporean laksa (spicy soup). Country Time Farm, a Farm to Fork vendor, provides all the pork for the traditionally prepared ramen and small plates. Under the guidance of Executive Chef Matt Morett, 40 pounds of split pigs’ feet, 40 pounds of chicken bones, and 10 pounds of pork fatback are simmered for 14 hours to make the authentic ramen broth. This process is repeated twice weekly to keep up with the student demand. In addition to the pigs’ feet and fatback, 60 pounds of pork belly and 40 pounds of pork shoulder are roasted weekly for the ramen and small plates.
Submitted by Tamee Flanagan, Operations Manager
Rice-based menu options feature popular items such as General’s Chicken, bibimbap, and coconut-milk curries to showcase the cuisines of China, Korea, and Thailand, respectively. Rotating specials highlight other countries by featuring Japanese beef gyudon, chicken katsudon, or Vietnamese com tam (all varying authentic rice-based dishes with meats and vegetables). To supplement the large-format dishes, a small-plates portion of the menu focuses on quick-serve, dim-sum–style options or as an additional side to a guest’s meal. Students can enjoy Asian smoked chicken wings, the highly portable Vietnamese spring rolls, and fun and healthy options like bo ssäm, pork and rice wrapped in hydroponic Bibb lettuce. Penn students have savvy palates for the truly authentic, and Market Noodles strives daily to provide a unique and satisfying dining experience. Submitted by Beth Bayrd, Marketing Manager
Student resident assistants help prepare a meal for their peers
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…at Mount St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles
Bon Appétit at Mount St. Mary’s College (MSMC) in Los Angeles helped launched a trifecta of sustainability initiatives to commence the new school year. Eco to go: The first is an eco-takeout container program, a new initiative that aims to take a bite out of the environmental impact of to-go dining. In compliance with the company’s ongoing efforts to reduce waste, both the Chalon and Doheny dining halls already use compostable takeout containers, but the packaging must still be removed from campus. The eco-takeout container program seeks to change that. The new and returning students joined by providing a $10 refundable deposit; participants can swap their used container to exchange for a clean one for their next to-go meal. The container itself is 100% BPA free, is microwave and dishwasher safe, and can be reused several times. The program is a great mechanism to challenge students to embrace the reduce and reuse philosophies of waste management. H2O to go: MSMC installed outdoor bottle filling stations at both Chalon and Doheny to encourage the use of reusable water containers and a reduction in the use of plastic water bottles. The many benefits from the installation of the outdoor water-filling stations include reducing the need for the disposal (trash or recycling) of plastic bottles, helping to save the resources needed to make the bottles and ship the water, and encouraging students to drink more water.
Students Joanna Baca and Issac Pro get their food to go in the eco-takeout containers
Food recovery: Finally, Bon Appétit at MSMC also partnered with LA Specialty, the produce distributor, to participate in the Chefs to End Hunger food recovery plan. Its mission is to provide meals to the hungry by redistributing the excess prepared food that would normally go to waste in the cafés at MSMC to local food agencies to serve the meals. Submitted by Jotanna Proescholdt, General Manager
Cook Albert Cervantes and Sous Chef Robert Onofre package food for the Chefs to End Hunger program
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back to school
Welcome Center booth showing “Welcome to Wheaton” baskets
…at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL
At Wheaton College, the school sets up a Welcome Center for parents visiting on Orientation Weekend. While parents are getting familiarized with the school’s programs, they can get to know the staff and Bon Appétit’s commitment to nutrition and sustainability. To aid in that effort, General Manager Raul Delgado started tabling outside the Welcome Center to introduce Bon Appétit and offer tickets to a voluntary Orientation Picnic open to new students and their families. The strategy worked, and the response was terrific. So the following year, Raul added options for discounted breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal tickets to the café. With happy and well-nourished parents and students, the revenues grew — and so did exposure and new ideas. In 2012, the Bon Appétit booth moved inside the actual Welcome Center room, dramatically increasing traffic. A new offering, “Thinking of You” baskets, was on the table. Each basket had a unique theme, such as“Welcome to Wheaton” (new students),“Brain 84 | BRAVO
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Food” (midterms and finals), and “Happy Birthday.” The basket samples not only generated immediate orders, but also planted the seed for parents to order for future special occasions. Orders now roll in throughout the year. Orientation Weekend has been a successful sales- and image-building tool; this year seems to be the best one yet. District Manager Kris Kotte came to help out at the table and had a great time answering questions and creating excitement about the great food Wheaton College delivers daily. “Wheaton’s gift basket program is an excellent example of entrepreneurship AND hospitality.… The parents really enjoy leaving a gift for their new student, and the students really light up when they get the notice that a package is waiting for them to pick up!” Kris said. The college has supported Bon Appétit’s participation in the school’s orientation activities with compliments and “prime real estate” placement. It’s a fun time of year for everyone. Submitted by Raul Delgado, General Manager
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A thank-you note from the Soka Student Union, hand-delivered by Phebe Chew, SSU secretary and Bon Appétit student employee
...at Soka University, Aliso Viejo, CA
On a balmy summer night in San Clemente, CA, Bon Appétit at Soka University catered a dinner for 25 at Villa Romano Green Farms for the Soka Student Union (SSU) Executive Council, led by Dean of Students Jay Heffron and Director of Student Services Hyon Moon. The purpose of the event was to support SSU’s team-building week in preparation for the coming academic year. Executive Chef Glen Tinsley wanted to create a memorable experience for the committee and advisers, and that he did! (See thank you, above.) Student leaders dined al fresco on the farm. Glen and Catering Supervisor Blair Miles, along with team members Cook Nic Hargraves and Baker Sam Scharer executed a dinner of seasonal produce and local seafood with finesse and talent. It was a memorable and delicious evening! Submitted by Michelle Gomez-Arguello, General Manager
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Thank You, Bon Appétit
...for Operating the MARKET CAFÉ AND WINE BAR ...for Feeding the SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS
Did you know Bon Appétit operates a bistro and wine bar in Cleveland? The locals do! And when newcomers discover it, they’re happy they did. General Manager Sam Shepherd received this email from a satisfied new customer: A perfect place to eat consistent, delicious lunch is difficult to next to impossible. Since my relocation from Cincinnati to Cleveland last month I’ve been searching the three blocks around my building (new AmTrust tower) for my everyday lunch break. Typical franchise sandwich places have been a complete bore. Your restaurant has been a godsend discovery! Fresh food? Cooking class? Wine dinners? CSA location? Wow! I love the tastes, local ingredients, and the staff is always the best! Different music every day is awesome! Clean and welcoming setting? Who does that anymore! Today’s visit was my fourth day in for lunch. I had the Cajun catfish, Brussels sprout salad, and fresh-cut fries. When we finished lunch today, my work colleague rubbed her eyes and asked if we just walked out of a dream. You have six new loyal customers!
Your restaurant has been a godsend discovery! Fresh food? Cooking class? Wine dinners? CSA location? Wow!
Losing a loyal guest is always bittersweet. Scott Tolzien was the 49ers’ third-string quarterback for the past two years. Released after training camp this year, he was signed by the Packers. Usually people are escorted off the Santa Clara, CA, property right away, but Scott asked if he could have one last meal in the café. He was allowed to come in and say good-bye to the team. He handed Executive Chef/General Manager Chad McWilliams a handwritten thank-you card that read: Chef Chad: Just wanted to say thanks for all the meals the past two and a half years. You guys don’t get enough credit for the job you do. One of the first things the new free agents always talk about is how good the food is. You guys accommodate us so well. I can honestly say that I looked forward to walking into that cafeteria every single day. Thanks again for everything, Chad! My best to all of you guys, Scott Tolzien
...for Coming to DENISON UNIVERSITY
Bon Appétit Management Company leadership was thrilled to add Denison University in Granville, OH, to our client roster this summer, and it seems parents are excited as well. General Manager Jennifer McGann received some enthusiastic thanks from a student’s father about Huffman Café: THANK YOU! My daughter, a sophomore, texted last night how excited she was with all the new food options and vegetarian options now offered at Huffman. She also said the food was delicious! Thank you and thanks to Denison University all the new, delicious offerings! Regards, John FitzGerald
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...for Delighting TWITTER
One thing’s for sure about serving Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters: you always know where you stand, since the employees Tweet their kudos (and occasional kvetching) daily, even hourly. However, one morning, the Tweeps went private with their accolades, by starting a “Bon Appétit Staff-Shout Out!” email thread, shared over the company’s “shootout”email alias. General Manager Kevin McConvey was included on the mailing list and received all of the nice comments. More than 40 people chimed in to express their thanks, including a certain high-placed executive, who said:
I bring in many business guests and they all leave as if they were just on vacation.
You know how much I love you guys...and this shout-out is WELL DESERVED. Keep up the amazing work... I have to say that the day we brought you on was one of the best decisions I’ve made since joining Twitter. Some choice words and #hashtags of praise from others: I bring in many business guests and they all leave as if they were just on vacation. We are the talk of the industry! Awesome work, Bon Appétit team!!! —Tom I’d like to just say how much I appreciate Kmac [General Manager Kevin McConvey], [Executive Chef] Lance [Holton], and the entire staff in the kitchen, kitchenettes, breakfast bar who take such good care of us each day. They provide us with fantastic, fresh food day in and day out. I truly feel spoiled by their dedication and the smiles on their faces. #grateful —Greg It’s helped turn me into a morning person... I look forward to getting to work in the morning so I can get food in my belly ASAP! —Sandy Mad props to the kitchen crew...it is utterly insane the high quality of meal choices we have each day...no, seriously, some days, I go crazy. #LovingFoodAgain —Sharad The fact that they can pull off surprisingly, ridonculously amazing meals day after day is remarkable. —Matthew
Bon Appétit is spot on for people with restrictive diets!
...for Great Service at ORACLE - DENVER
Executive Chef/General Manager Phillip Byrne received the following email from a guest about Oracle’s Blue Sky Café, especially praising Cashier Jean Hensley and Barista Janet Patterson, both longtime Bon Appétit employees: I would like to extend a great thanks to the wonderful staff at the Blue Sky Café. Jean and Janet particularly do a wonderful job and deserve a raise! I worked in their positions about 18 years ago in downtown Denver and know it’s a challenge dealing with people and the stress associated with food service. Just let them know what a great job I think they’re doing! Jon-Michael DeShazer
...for Offering Vegan Options at LAFAYETTE COLLEGE
Students are already sharing their appreciation for another newcomer to the Bon Appétit family, Lafayette College in Easton, PA. Stacy Cesanek, manager of dining services for Upper Farinon, received the following note from Elizabeth Lucy: I recently gave up all dairy products and have had the easiest time eating at school! I am so impressed and surprised. I really anticipated cooking completely for myself. Last year, I was just a vegetarian and had the hardest time feeling full and like I had a reasonable amount of options. Bon Appétit is spot on for people with restrictive diets! Thank you! 2 0 1 3 Vo l u m e 4
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Smiling faces of happy attendees
...at ST. EDWARD’S UNIVERSITY, for a Perfect Conference
After St. Edward’s University hosted a conference for the Admissions and College Counseling Institute in Austin, TX, Director of Operations Clifton Clehouse received a glowing note, addressed to the whole team, from Sherri Defesche, recruiting events coordinator for St. Edward’s Admissions Office: Where can I begin to thank you for the extraordinary effort you went to in providing our ACCI group with incredibly memorable meals last week? I had an idea of the ambiance I wanted to create for the event, but you guys far exceeded my wildest dreams. You probably don’t know this, but at the last ACCI meal, all of you received a standing ovation from the ACCI attendees (just ask the two servers who were stationed at the service door). I certainly joined them because I am fully aware of the diligent work involved to create such elaborate meals that included these high-touch points: •Quality ingredients used to create exquisite dishes that delighted the eyes long before they delighted the palate. •Menus that pleasantly surprised our guests, who were expecting generic conference-like fare. •Professional, highly competent, and friendly serving staff that attended to every guest’s need.
Barbecued vegetables with grits
I could just go on and on with all the things you did to make this first ACCI an astounding success from using your best serving pieces to making sure that extra tables and chairs were removed from the reception area and from adding drink stations where I forgot to incorporate them to changing the linens from daytime to nighttime, which made the same ballroom feel very different. I can’t wait to do this all again with Bon Appétit next year....You went way beyond the call of duty, and you will never know how much it was appreciated by me, the whole Admissions Office, and TACAC. You made us shine! With gratitude, Sherri
...for a Wonderful Wedding at the SEATTLE ART MUSEUM
Anna Burkett, director of events for TASTE events at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), had one busy summer and an even busier night, when three weddings took place at all three of its locations: the Seattle Art Museum, the Olympic Sculpture Park, and the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Dubbed Wed-a-thon by one sales manager, the night was a culmination of months of preparation. All three couples were pleased with the food for their special days, Anna reports, but one in particular seemed extra thrilled. Following their wedding, Sean and Tom shared photos with Anna and her team and expressed deep gratitude to all those involved.“This email was one of the highlights of the 2013 wedding season for me,” Anna said. I know you must hear this all the time, but WE and especially our guests were truly impressed with SAM. The food was PERFECT! The salmon was cooked especially well (not overdone) — very impressive on a buffet. We continue to receive many compliments! I’m looking forward to our next dinner at TASTE. But it wasn’t just the food that was perfect — the service, the drinks, the wine, the setup — everything was beyond our expectations. And we think we have high standards! 88 | BRAVO
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...for Above-and-Beyond Service at ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY
...at CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE. So: Cheese, Please?
The Palo Alto corporate office received this email from a conference attendee at Roger Williams University:
Most of the feedback Bon Appétit receives from students comes from comment cards, emails sent through the account’s website, and social media. But Greg Hoffman, ’15 at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, CA, decided to aim higher with his praise, perhaps in the hope that it would grease the wheels for some special requests. He sent the following email to corporate:
Dear Bon Appétit personnel, I wanted to take the time to inform you of the outstanding service provided by your team at Roger Williams University, specifically the catering manager Melissa Kindness. Last week I attended a conference of the Northeast Association of Criminal Justice Sciences (NEACJS), and the food and service provided by your team, under Melissa’s management, were excellent. The food was delicious, served on time, and the employees were very friendly. What was particularly impressive, however, was Ms. Kindness’s attention to detail and willingness to serve. A couple of our university students were trying to order a pizza later in the evening, and the local shops had stopped delivery (it was about 10:30 p.m.). Ms. Kindness actually overheard their attempts to call the pizza shops and went to go pick up the pizzas herself. This was extraordinary service, and the students were grateful. This is a great team that you have at RWU, and Ms. Kindness represents your agency with professionalism and energy. David R. Champion, Ph.D. Dept. of Criminology and Criminal Justice Slippery Rock University
Ms. Kindness actually overheard their attempts to call the pizza shops and went to go pick up the pizzas herself. This was extraordinary service, and the students were grateful.
From top to bottom, [your operation at Claremont McKenna] is simply excellent. The quality and spread of the food is unrivaled, especially when compared to other college campuses. The staff is receptive to critiques about the food and does not hesitate to make changes to reflect them. Perhaps the most commendable thing is that every member of the staff takes the extra initiative to connect with the students on a personal level. This truly makes everyone feel as if they were at home. …I do have a couple suggestions, though. First, I know a number of us students would like to see more berries, namely strawberries and blueberries. Also, grapes. Secondly, another thing that has oft been discussed among my fellow students is a cheese and cracker selection. I think the above two suggestions would greatly complement the amazing existing plethora of options during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack. Lastly, I again want to emphasize the truly great job that is currently being done by the food service staff at Claremont McKenna. ...for Stepping It Up at ECKERD COLLEGE
Eckerd College Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students Dr. Jim Annarelli received the following email from a faculty member regarding Scott Myers, the new director of dining at the St. Petersburg, FL, university: I cannot tell you how amazing the cafeteria has been lately! The food is wonderful, and there has been such a wide variety to choose from. The new plates and atmosphere has made dining there an absolute joy! Dining there has been more than lunch; it has been an experience! It feels, looks, and tastes like we are dining in a restaurant rather than a school cafeteria. Students have also noticed the changes, and I have never before seen them so excited about going to the cafeteria. Catering has been top notch at our Autumn Term events! We really appreciate how smoothly everything has gone at our events and have loved the food and the decor. The new shirts you all have also add a nice touch! Thank you for going the extra mile for us. Great job, everyone, and thank you for all you do! Please make sure Kathy [Mills, café manager], Nicole [Williams, catering manager], Dawyn [Patterson, retail manager], and everyone involved knows that their hard work has been noticed! Lova M. Patterson 2 0 1 3 Vo l u m e 4
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...for Everything You Do at REGIS UNIVERSITY
Regis General Manager Letina Matheny has had positive feedback rolling in all season from her Denver campus. From a conference attendee: Thank you for an evening that is sure to be talked about for days and months to come. The food that was prepared and served at Clarke Hall and at Claver Hall exceeded our expectations tenfold. The service that your folks provided was also met with high praise, and we are so grateful to Bon Appétit for their support and sponsorship of this year’s conference. The food selection and preparation couldn’t have been more well received. What a special evening...thank you for sharing your staff with us. Rave reviews keep coming in about how good the food and presentation was. As someone said, “Bon Appétit hit this one out of the park!” We are so blessed to have Bon Appétit on board, and we couldn’t be more proud of showcasing your talented staff with the rest of the AJCU Finance Officers. From the flower arrangements to the service of the staff and finally the quality of food, we are the fortunate ones! Well done, well done. Amy Graybill From a student: I have never experienced such delicious AND healthy cafeteria food as I have in the past few weeks eating with Bon Appétit! You guys are really doing something right, so thank you! Sincerely, Annie Starkey [Regis freshman] And from a staff member:
As someone said, “Bon Appétit hit this one out of the park!” We are so blessed to have Bon Appétit on board... ...for the FoodCorps Feast at LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE
The Bon Appétit team at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, hosted a weeklong orientation and training conference for FoodCorps, the grassroots nonprofit that places recent college graduates in underserved food communities to improve their access to healthy food, nutrition education, and more. Erica Curry, the training and professional development manager for FoodCorps, wrote this wonderful note afterward: We felt truly cared for and enjoyed each and every meal, snack, and dining experience. I can say that you exceeded our expectations; we are grateful for the thought and care that you put into your work. I appreciate the attention to detail you all provided — attending to our participants with special dietary needs, arranging educational material and local partners for our service members to learn from, developing a special menu for our group that highlighted amazing local producers, and providing food and materials for our cooking workshop session. Our group left well nourished and inspired by your good work. We hope to dine with you again soon!
The etiquette dinner went very well. The food was excellent...the chef did a great job. We appreciated the time he took with his explanation of the courses he prepared. The table settings looked beautiful…Director of Catering Rebecca Richter did a great job with the presentation. She took time to go to each table throughout the evening to see if people had questions. As always, she was poised and professional and went over the major questions students typically ask regarding table etiquette. She created a well-organized presentation. We were very grateful for her generous donation of her time. The service was probably the best I have seen since I’ve been doing this dinner. Thank you again for your willingness to assist us in this very worthwhile and informative evening. The students thoroughly enjoyed the evening and were happy to find out from the “experts” proper table manners. Karen Metzger Adducci Employer Relations Developer Waste Sustainability Specialist Claire Cummings, Charlie Harris of Flamingo Ridge Farm, and Executive Chef Scott Clagett speaking to FoodCorps members about the importance of supporting small-scale agriculture
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...for the Sweet Surprise at the FOLSOM CAFÉ
Marketing Director Cara Brechler in Folsom, CA, was reminded that sometimes it’s the little, sweet things that matter: Thumbprint cookies were FANTASTIC! 10 out of 10 for me. Polenta, cheese, and fig were to die for. Oh my goodness, the best I have ever had. No rating high enough for me. Antoinette Lacoste
Kudos on the Peruvian beef meal today. The taste of the food brought me back to my mom’s kitchen in Peru. ¡Muchas gracias!
...for Peruvian Perfection at the OREGON EPISCOPAL SCHOOL
Bon Appétit’s culinary team members pride themselves on their ability to offer global flavors using local, sustainable ingredients, but the true test is whether you can impress a native. Kelly Cowing, general manager at the Oregon Episcopal School in Portland, OR, was thus especially tickled to receive this: Hi Kelly: I don’t know if you know this, but our new Spanish teacher, Lisset O’Neill, is Peruvian born. When I saw that you had the Peruvian beef on the menu, I told her about it. I asked her to let me know if it tastes like a real Peruvian dish. Her response was an enthusiastic Yes! She appreciated the fact that you served it with potatoes and quinoa, a typical accompaniment for Peruvian beef. She hopes that when she teaches about Peruvian foods in her Spanish class she can talk with you about having Peruvian dishes on the menu... Thanks for all you and your staff do! Best, Chris O’Toole Assistant Head of Lower School The expert herself also sent a note: Kudos on the Peruvian beef meal today. The taste of the food brought me back to my mom’s kitchen in Peru. ¡Muchas gracias!
...for Healthy Conference Food at the INSTITUTE FOR AMERICAN INDIAN ARTS
In this busy day and age, it’s the rare guest who will go through the trouble to track down our corporate contact information in order to give feedback. However, we’re pleased to say that those that do almost always want to share praise for their local team. Chris Payne, who visited the Institute for American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, NM, sent the following email to headquarters and also posted on the company Facebook page: I just returned from a conference at the IAIA in Santa Fe, NM, with the Gilder Lehrman Institute. I am sort of taking a shot in the dark here, and I hope I have the right company. I just wanted to say that I, as well as the other participants, were totally blown away at how awesome the food was! I have come not to expect too much from campus food, but this was incredible. The three meals we were served each day were delicious and very healthy, and the whole conference was so much better because of it. We all looked forward to each meal…. Your cooks were so dedicated to cooking us great meals and were very friendly with all of us. We could really tell that they loved what they did, and it showed in the product. I especially want to point out the woman named Angela [Lucero, breakfast cook]. You could tell that she was very passionate about her work, and she should be commended as well as the whole staff!
The three meals we were served each day were delicious and very healthy, and the whole conference was so much better because of it. We all looked forward to each meal…
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University of Portland
...for Impressing High School Visitors to UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND
After hosting a luncheon for a Roosevelt High School leadership group to demonstrate the college life vibe and Bon AppĂŠtit dining, Operations Manager Tamee Flanagan received the thank-you above. 92 | BRAVO
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...for Supporting Local Beef at OBERLIN COLLEGE
Bon Appétit at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH, has been buying locally raised steers from the Lorain County Junior Fair for the past three years. James Keressi, who worked with the local 4-H to raise his steer, sent this cute note of thanks to Eric Pecherkiewicz, marketing manager/registered dietitian:
These student requests are more important than they seem because, when listened to, they give us some influence over what we eat, and that is a comforting feeling.
…for Really Listening to Students at UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
One of the best ways to get feedback and make a great impression is to just sit down and ask for it. That’s exactly what University of Pennsylvania’s Hill House Executive Chef Donald Stauffer did recently, and a student was nice enough to take the time to pass on his appreciation for the gesture to Penn Director of Operations Bryson Lanning: I am a current student at UPenn and frequent the dining halls on campus. I just want to express my surprise and appreciation regarding Mr. Stauffer’s reception to students’ suggestions in the Hill dining hall. When I had asked a server for a change of Hill’s syrup, Mr. Stauffer came and sat down with my friends and me and just said, “Tell me what you guys want.” We talked for a half hour about things we wanted in the dining hall and about when we could expect certain changes to be made. The following day he had already added to the dining hall items we had asked for (e.g., Nutella and Cholula hot sauce). I never expected our suggestions to be taken so seriously and in a timely manner, so I am emailing you to inform you of Mr. Stauffer’s receptiveness and excellent method of operation. These student requests are more important than they seem because, when listened to, they give us some influence over what we eat, and that is a comforting feeling. Mr. Stauffer has on several occasions made himself very approachable to anyone who had any question, comment, or critique on the dining hall’s operations and has been more than willing to act on them. As a result, I will be eating at Hill much more often. Sincerely, Kevin DeCorso
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The Back Page
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A VIEW TO A KALE: The Bon AppĂŠtit team at Marymount
California University is eager to see a new campus garden come to life on this hilltop in Rancho PalosVerdes, CA. Marymount Sustainability Officer Kathleen Talbot has been the leading force behind the launch of the edible garden, with support from Bon AppĂŠtit General Manager Donna Novotney, Executive Chef Luis Jimenez, and Waste Sustainability Specialist Claire Cummings. They're looking forward to someday serving the student-grown produce in the dining hall. Submitted by Claire Cummings, Waste Sustainability Specialist
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INDEX Adobe - San Jose 59 Art Institute of Chicago 16, 58, 72-73 BD Biosciences 71 Best Buy 6 Biola University 65 Carleton College 19 Case Western Reserve University 8 Chandler Café 57 Claremont McKenna College 89 Cleveland Museum of Art 69 College of Idaho 23, 69 Colorado College 8 Denison University 29, 86 DreamWorks Animation 48 eBay 74 Eckerd College 89 Electronic Arts 81 Flextronics 59 Folsom Café 59, 91 Gallaudet University 23 Google - Mountain View 60-61, 71 Grand Central Café 58 Hamilton College 7 Hill Country Café 39 Institute for American Indian Arts 91 Johns Hopkins University 29, 78 Lafayette College 87 Lewis & Clark College 24, 90 LinkedIn 81 Macalester College 77 Market Café and Wine Bar 86 Marymount California University 94 McMaster-Carr Supply 18 Medtronic 56 Mount St. Mary’s College 83 Musical Instrument Museum 22 Oberlin College 17, 35, 93
Oracle - Denver 17, 87 Oregon Episcopal School 91 RA1 Café 50 RA3 Café 59 Regis University 90 Rio Rancho 7 Café 53 Roger Williams University 14, 79, 89 RS5 Café 59 Saint Louis Art Museum 12-13, 51 Saint Louis University School of Law 79 San Francisco 49ers 86 Santa Clara University 59 SAP 36-37, 80 SAS 17, 58, 70 Savannah College of Art and Design 15 Seattle Art Museum 62-63, 88 Soka University 85 Sony Playstation 80 St. Edward’s University 9, 28, 56, 88 St. Mary’s College of Maryland 74 Target 34, 68 Trine University 64 Tropicana Gardens 70 Twitter 80, 87 University of Pennsylvania 33, 40-41, 46-47, 53, 82, 93 University of Portland 26-27, 82, 92 University of Redlands 20-21, 76 University of Saint Joseph 18 University of the Pacific 52 VMware 57 Washington University 38-39, 56, 66 Wheaton College 84 Whittier College 75 Yahoo! 80
BRAVO WAS PRINTED ON PAPER MADE FROM
100%
RECYCLED FIBER INCLUDING
THIS SAVED...
43 fully grown trees 19,857 gallons water 19 million BTUs energy 1,329 pounds solid waste 3,661 pounds greenhouse gases
57%
POST- CONSUMER WASTE .
2 0 1 3 Vo l u m e 4 :
2013
VOL 4
EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE
EAT LOCAL CHALLENGE CELEBRATING THE BOUNTY GROWING ALL AROUND US PAGE 4
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
BRAVO IS THE ALMOST QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF
BON APPÉTIT MANAGEMENT COMPANY |
A Member of the Compass Group
100 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 400 Palo Alto, California 94301 650-798-8000 www.bamco.com
In Praise of Peachfest
LEARN HOW FOOD CHOICES AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT, COMMUNITY,
PAGE 42
PAGE 54
What We Can Learn from Millennials
AND YOUR WELL-BEING AT www.eatlowcarbon.org
Executive Chef Derek Roy harvests onions from the Hamilton College garden PAGE 7
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