The Experience Notre Dame culinary teams put the literal icing on the cake for many of the events surrounding the Inauguration of Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. The three day celebration was an opportunity for the chefs from Three Leaf, Legends, Rohr’s, and Campus Dining to show off their culinary talents and create a global feast for the ages.
Wednesday evening kicked off a campus wide picnic with themed food tents, 15 local food trucks, and a crowd of more than 12,000 community members. At The Smoke House tent, guests sampled a House Smoked BBQ Plate with signature pulled pork, baby back ribs, smoked sausage links, cornbread, pickles, and locally made barbecue sauces. The Global Table featured a Tandoori Chicken bowl with tandoori spiced chicken thighs, naan, raita, and tamarind, and a Coctel de Camaron with tender jumbo shrimp, fresh vegetables, avocado, and a house made salsa. Chef Sinai Vespie ,executive pastry chef, served nearly 5,000 cookies, 4,000 brownies, 4,200 dessert parfaits and 4,200 ice cream bars.
“Our teams worked diligently to craft menus for thousands of guests on campus throughout the week. I am proud of the work we did to celebrate Father Dowd,” said Luigi Alberganti, executive director of Campus Dining.
At the Presidential Inauguration Gala, guests dined on a seasonal meal featuring an apple squash salad, chargrilled filet mignon, and roasted honeynut squash. The evening was capped with Vespie’s dark chocolate orange mousse with espresso creme, candied orange chocolate crunch, and an orange sauce.
“It was a true honor to execute the Inauguration Gala dinner, as well as hosting guests at Morris Inn for Father Dowd, and a fantastic collaboration with our exceptional campus partners,” said Scott Rieth, executive director of Hospitality.
Notre Dame Sustainability played a huge role in the three day event. Through a collaboration with Cultivate Food Rescue, 1,969 pounds of leftover food were diverted to become 3,400 meals to support our hunger- ending efforts in the South Bend community. Furthermore, the University utilized composting at a large-scale event for one of the first times on campus. Recognizing its importance as a key waste diversion stream, the pilot program allowed the University to learn and explore different pathways that could fit Notre Dame in the future as it considers options for events and everyday waste streams. Nearly 2,243 pounds of compostable waste was collected at the picnic.
“We are thrilled and honored to have been able to test composting at Notre Dame on such a large scale,” said Geory Kurtzhals, senior director for Notre Dame Sustainability. “For years, the University has actively prevented food from going to the landfill via our partnership with Cultivate Food Rescue and our Grind2Energy process. Landfilled food waste is a key emitter of greenhouse gas emissions. As we think about how we can do more to reduce our impact, testing composting is a natural next step, as it allows us to incorporate both food and compostable serveware. We know that the impact of the waste we diverted from this single pilot initiative is equivalent to avoiding a drive from Notre Dame to Seattle, Washington.”
The culinary team continued their efforts the week after inauguration by supporting Inauguration Build 2024, the University’s service project with Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County. From Monday, September 16, through Friday, September 20, nearly 750 University faculty and staff volunteers helped Habitat construct five affordable homes for local families. The homes were built along Harrison Avenue in South Bend’s Near Northwest Neighborhood. Three Leaf Express donated 275 boxed lunches and 30 gallons of coffee for volunteers working at the build site.
Originally published by at experience.nd.edu on October 08, 2024.