"You know what the students eat more than anything else?"
I had heard rumors, but in a hesitant tone, I questioned, "chicken parm?"
Without a second thought, Ken quickly answered, "Oh my goodness. And chicken fingers. I can't believe it, I just, I can't believe it. Sometimes I wonder, like, wow, what's the draw?"
Sure, classics like chicken parmesan still rule the student palette, but college food service has come a long way. Mashed potatoes and soggy beef no longer fill the stomachs of college students on a regular basis; organic vegetables and hormone-free meat have replaced them. The world of food service has, in recent years, undergone a drastic shift.
Ken Cardone, associate director of the award-winning dining service department has been overseeing our chow for more than 15 years, and truly understands how college campuses like their food. His own food philosophy has been instilled in the entire dining department: "If I don't want to eat it, I'm not gonna serve it to anybody else...If you will not serve it to your family, and your friends, I am certainly not gonna put it on the menu."
Nationwide, his devotion, and that of Mary Lou Kennedy, Director of Dining and Bookstore Services, has been noticed. Bowdoin is back at the top spot in dining, a spot that is not unfamiliar. Since Cardone began here, Bowdoin's food has always been well-rated in comparison with other American colleges and universities.
This year, in the Princeton Review's "Top Ten Best Campus Food," Bowdoin placed first, beating out Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Massachusetts (second place), Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minnisota (third place), and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York (fourth place).
According to the Princeton Review, "Bowdoin College leads the pack for culinary cachet with its students: 'The food makes Bowdoin feel like home,' they say. Even though 'rumor is that the dining budget was cut this year,' for many prospectives considering this small Maine school, 'the campus's beauty and food sealed the deal.'"
As in so many other categories, Bowdoin overtook Bates and Colby. Colby placed a decent seventh place, and poor Bates didn't make the top ten.
What sets the College apart from other schools is its willingness to adapt and change with its students.
Cardone acknowledges, "You have to be flexible. The foundation of every good plan is the ability to change it when needed. Boy, is that true in food service. It changes in a heartbeat!"
Dining service is always eager to try new foods, work with student organizations to create theme meals, and change things that just don't work.
Cardone recognizes that the more than two hundred students who work in food services are crucial for feedback and advice. Even the smallest pointer is helpful in the quest for the best possible food.
Additionally, the comment cards provide an important source of feedback.
While feedback is key, dining services would be only at the Bobcats' level were it not for the devoted staff. Roughly 80 full-time Bowdon employees work diligently to produce fine pieces of culinary delectability.
The average tenure in Moulton and Thorne is approximately 15 years, with some topping 20. One employee of note, Doug Pollack, has worked in dining services for around 30 years. Pollack, one-time head chef at Thorne, now works at the Polar Express.
Mostly Brunswick residents, dining service employees of the Bowdoin community tirelessly make sure that our food is cooked, presented, and served as if we were eating a home cooked meal.
This is another important aspect of the dining philosophy according to Cardone.
"We must never forget, our customers live here, this is home, for several months... How do you want to be treated when you go home?"
This mentality is what keeps students coming back for seconds.
Before any student tastes the food, each course is cooked in a small batch of six to eight portions in Cardone's kitchen to judge taste and feasibility. Once it passes the preliminary taste test, a course is called up from the minors to the big leagues.
For freshness, ingredients are ordered as needed. Lots of ingredients. Jon Wiley, Purchasing Manager, has the responsibility of ordering food for all of the Bowdoin campus. This breaks down to about 20,000 board meals per week, 2,000 yearly catered events and numerous miscellaneous dining opportunities.
Wiley reported that among the most coveted food items from last year were bananas (28,600 lbs), tomatoes (23,425 lbs), coffee (16,000 lbs), potatoes (9,850 lbs), napkins (1,095,000 unbleached, dioxin free) and lobsters (3,814). In addition, 1,202 gallons of ketchup were consumed, and 10,860 pounds of margarine.
It is easy for students not to realize just how much effort goes into food. It is an area of any college, however, that is pivotal to student life. Next to dorm rooms and the library, most students spend a large portion of their time in either Moulton or Thorne. Food services understands how important their role is.
"What you want to do is make sure your customers are happy," Cardone said.
A unique quality of the culinary arts is that "There is something about food service, college food service, it's kind of, it's kind of a living thing that you keep nurturing, it keeps changing. It changes quite a bit. You have to have a sense of adventure when you're in this business."
While the student base changes year to year and food trends come and go, Bowdoin food remains in that elite group of culinary perfection. Dining Service will continue to satisfy Polar Bears in need of delicious food, especially chicken parm, for years to come.