Everything's on the table
Not stopping with wildly popular sushi and lobster nights, Dining Services has updated 85 percent of its menu for spring semester.
Like hundreds of other students, they file into the dining commons, give their meal plan card to the cashier to swipe, and pick up a tray. Unlike other students, they carry evaluation forms. For them, eating is a job, not just an adventure.
They’re the Mystery Shoppers–students paid a small amount by UMass Amherst Dining Services to secretly review the food and service of the dining commons on a weekly basis.
The plaque that Dining Services received as winner of the Loyal Horton Residence Hall Dining Award from the National Association of College and University Food Services – for overall dining experience, including quality of food, presentation, and innovative menu concept–was just nailed to the wall in September when director Ken Toong deployed the Mystery Shoppers and sent surveys to 4,000 students to find out what Dining Services could do still bettter for spring semester.
“Few departments interact with students three or four times a day, like we do,” notes Toong, bustling through the kitchen at Worcester Dining Hall as chef Linda Lian, formerly of Panda East, tosses vegetable lo mein in a giant wok under a puff of steam. “We have to change. Even if a dish is good, if students see it all the time, they get bored.”
Students said they want the DCs to be open later. Check. This semester, they begin staying open until 9 and even 10 p.m. on some nights.
Students said they want more variety, including healthy options. Check. A whopping 85 percent of the menu is new this semester. Executive chef Willie Sng is introducing dishes such as chicken with coconut milk, pasta stir-frys with different sauces, tofu fricasse, and others. He and Toong thrive on the challenge of offering the highest quality food possible given the reality of feeding thousands every day. UMass Amherst is sixth in the nation in the number of students who use meal plans, with 11,000.
“No more bulk cooking,” declares Toong. “We do ‘just-in-time’ cooking now. For the lo mein, Linda is using fresh noodles, not frozen or dry, and it’s going right out to the tables—so fresh you can taste the heat of the wok.”
Also in response to student requests, more vegetarian dishes are offered than ever before; soy milk is available; canola oil has replaced vegetable oil to reduce trans fats; omelettes are made with less oil; and artisanal breads are offered, with olive oil available as well as butter.
One thing that hasn’t changed: the enormously successful fresh sushi bar. As one of just two campuses in the nation (the other is the UCLA) to offer all-you-can eat fresh sushi, UMass Amherst goes through 600-1,000 pieces per meal period on the days it’s offered. “Sushi isn’t expensive to make, but it’s labor intensive,” says Toong. “We’ve hired some students to roll it. Some already knew how to prepare sushi, and we trained others. It helps reduce the cost and makes the sushi more authentic and fresh.”
Still, students consume mountains of pizza and french fries. “Students want the healthy options to always be available,” explains Toong. “But they don’t necessarily choose them. It depends on their mood.”
Making his rounds in the first week of the semester is Mystery Shopper Sean Mahan, a freshman music major. “Sometimes in rush hour, they have trouble refilling the drink stations. And keeping enough forks. But most servers are really friendly and can be pretty funny.” Today Mahan goes for fresh-carved pork tenderloin roasted with a Jamaican rub, a chunk cut off a baguette, and a slice of pizza. After declaring the pork “really good,” he adds, “Last fall, most of my evaluations were good.”
Junior Ming Kang tries everything now that he’s a Mystery Shopper. “I loved lobster night—they had fresh lobsters in tanks—and I love the sushi,” says the exercise science major. “I’m surprised at the great variety they have, with eel, salmon, tuna, and vegetarian. But I’m even more aware now of all the other dishes they’re offering. In just the two years since I was a freshman, the dining commons have made a huge improvement. I’m up for trying all of it.”
It’s a tough job, but somebody has to chew it.
more: UMass Amherst Dining Services