Presented each year by Student Government, Dave Prentkowski, Director Notre Dame Food Services, was awarded the 27^th annual Irish Clover Award on April 3, 2012.  The nomination process occurs through the Notre Dame Student Body with an approval vote by the Student Senate.  In this nomination, Dave was recognized in honor of his many contributions to student life, including the hard work with the student leaders on different food eateries in the LaFortune Student Center.   The selection process was highly competitive and the students voted on his reputation.…

The Huddle in the LaFortune Student Center has really ‘kicked’ their Relay for Life Fundraising efforts into gear!  In support of Notre Dame’s commitment to Relay for Life, staff and students at the Huddle sold a total of 1,505 feet, the most on campus.

Notre Dame Food Services is excited to announce a new dining addition to LaFortune!  After talking with and receiving feedback from several groups of students, we are now working with Taco Bell and Pizza Hut with the goal of opening concepts in the current location of Sbarro.

Since opening our first franchise (Burger King) in 1998, the mix of venues in the Huddle…

Donald Miller, CEC, CCE, AAC, was honored this week by the American Culinary Federation (ACF) for his outstanding professionalism. Miller received the organization’s Central Region Chef Professionalism Award, at the 2012 ACF Central Regional Conference held in Detroit, April 14–16.

Notre Dame Vending is pleased to announce the launch of Laundry View.  You can now check the status on line of the washer and dryer that you are using in your residence hall.  This ia also a great way to check if machines are available when you are ready to do laundry without leaving where you are at the time.  On line visit - www.laundryview.com/notredame…

Chef Laura Strunk CEC, competed in the National Association for College and University Food Services (NACUFS) Midwest Regional culinary competition in French Lick, Indiana on March 3, 2012, where she out shined eight of her Midwest peers finishing first and achieving a Gold Medal by American Culinary Federation standards. 

 

 

Greg Larson, CC, has been recognized as one of the Under 30 upcoming performers in the food and beverage industry by Food Service Director Magazine.  For over two years, Greg has been the Chef of the North Dining Hall where he oversees student dining production for approximately 4,000 meals each day, lunch production for the campus day care facility, training table production for two venues, and is a major contributor to over 500,000 catering meals each year.…

 Notre Dame Food Services Ranked in 14 Colleges That Cater to Gluten-Free Students

On January 16, 2012, Notre Dame Food Services kicked off the semester with a new line of packaged sandwiches and salads.  Produced in our own Food Service Support Facility, this line of sandwiches and salads is designed to delight the palate.  These products will be available in our various retail units across campus; you can just grab it and go, featuring Notre Dame’s Own and ND To Go Value options.…

Beginning January 19, 2012, Notre Dame Food Service kicked off a new line of authentically prepared Korean menu items in our dining halls.  

Are you ever in the dining hall and interested to know which item is lower in fat or has more protein? 

Now you can access nutrition information instantly with your smart phone. 

New in North Dining Hall this semester, you will find a QR code on the line card.  Scan this with your smart phone bar code reader and you will link directly to the nutritional information for that food item.  Through our online version of What’s in my Food, nutritional information, you will see the nutritional information for any of the entrees featured that day.…

January 6, 2012, Notre Dame Food Services (NDFS) announced the winners of the inaugural Director’s Awards.  These awards were created to recognize outstanding performance within campus food services.  Driven by employee feedback from both supervisors and staff, NDFS pursued means to further recognize our staff within food services.  The result was our three awards.

May Kwok, Dave Studer, and Jim Yarbrough are our honorees. 

Student volunteers recently helped measure the tray waste in both the North and South Dining Halls.  This measurement has been occurring for the past six years.  The Notre Dame Student Body has stepped up to the plate and reduced plate waste progressively over this time. …

Too often we are engaged in many other activities at meal time and as such we are never fully aware or present for our meal.  We may be working on our computers while we eat, eating in front of the television or in our cars, or eating while standing up or on the go.  The point is that most of us do not slow down so that we can truly enjoy our meals.  In doing so, we shortchange the physical and psychological experience of eating. …

BY: COLLEEN O’CONNOR FOR NDWORKS

Forty-four years ago, Helen Hiatt came to the Huddle for a job interview. “I thought I would be there for an hour or so, but the manager at that time, Mr. Farrell, asked me if I could start that day,” said Hiatt. She has been at the Huddle ever since.

Celebrating her 90^th…

Executive Chef Don Miller, CEC, AAC, CCE, of Notre Dame Food Services was honored to be named as one of 15 finalists for the 2011 Chefs Collaborative Sustainability Award. Chefs Collaborative initiated its Sustainability Awards in 2010 to recognize individuals who have played an exemplary role in changing the sustainable food landscape. Each finalist is deserving of special recognition for their contributions to both food and sustainability.…

Zeeland Farm Services is the provider of Notre Dame Food Services cooking oils.  Zoye oil is a great choice, produced sustainably from 100% locally grown soybeans.  This locally produced oil provides the health benefits of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, and much more.

With the leaves changing color and football season in full swing, we know that fall is upon us.  With this change, Greenfields is offering a new menu showcasing fall specialties.  Available now, this menu offers seasonal items such as Harvest Stew, a blend of winter squash, sweet potatoes, turnips, corn & beans, kale, and Israeli couscous in a rich vegetable stock. …

At the latest nutrition and culinary presentation at Greenfields, we explored some key gardening ideas, ways to extend one’s harvest, nutritional principles, and some delicious recipes.

The Notre Dame Campus Community garden may have touched you even if you have never been there.

Grow Irish! The Campus Community Garden helps to improve the quality of like on campus by giving access to

• fresh local produce
• fresh air and exercise (recreation and therapy)
• a wider network of people

September 3^rd was not only the premier of the 2011 Fighting Irish Football Team; it was also the premier of the newest food service concept on campus.  Recker’s launched its Tandoori station just South of South Dining Hall.  This concept is available game days only.

Tandoori is a cooking method that roasts marinated meats over an intense fire in a Tandoor (Indian clay pot ovens).  Traditional tandoors are buried in the ground. Our portable tandoor simulates these clay ovens. The meats are cooked on skewers in a smoky, extremely hot environment. …

Are you looking for a value or something new and different?  Notre Dame Food Services offers specials in all of our operations.

On August 10, 2011, Chef Donald Miller, Notre Dame Food Services Executive Chef and Jocie Antonelli, Notre Dame Food Services Nutritionist and Registered Dietician, presented the benefits offered by summer fruit:  Fruits are one of the five main food groups.  This group is full of vitamins, minerals, fiber, enzymes, phytonutrients, and more.  In fact, fresh fruits (and vegetables) are so full of nutrients, it is almost impossible to count by hand.  The Handbook of Phytochemical Constituents of Generally Regarded as Safe Herbs lists nearly all fresh fruits and vegetables as having roughly 10,000 nutrients!  This is why we must eat our fruits and vegetables, rather than trying to rely on taking vitamin and mineral supplements. …

Notre Dame Food Services dining halls reached record counts* again during the 2010-2011 academic year.  The combined efforts of both North and South Dining Hall served over 2 million meals last year hitting an all-time high of 2,140,000 meals served.  This number is up by 20,000 meals from the prior year.  These meals are only a portion of those served by Notre Dame Food Service with a multitude of restaurants, catering, vending, and religious houses all increasing this total.  Our participation continues to rise.  Last year’s increase included over 5,000 meals used by faculty and staff and an increase in student athlete participation through training tables.  Marc Poklinkowski, General Manager of South Dining Hall, attributes this rise to the economic pressures facing today’s student.  “We’ve actually seen a total increase of 100,000 meals compared to three years ago.  The first couple of years of increases was directly correlated with the economy.  This past year, both dining halls have concentrated on quality, and have also improved our variety various ways.  Students have responded positively to the changes, and we’re seeing that result in even higher counts, even with an economy that is slightly improving” says Poklinkowski. …

Notre Dame Food Services is proud to announce many accomplishments from the past academic year in the area of sustainability.  We continue to make great strides in waste reduction and sustainable purchasing.

Over the course of the 2010-2011 academic year, the amount of trash that we discarded decreased by another 16% in our largest dining hall.  This is after a reduction of over 50% from the 2008-2009 year. This can be attributed to continually increasing recycling efforts and our work to dispose of food waste through the water treatment system where it is considered composted.  …