{"id":97413,"date":"2015-10-21T17:10:24","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T21:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=97413"},"modified":"2024-07-03T15:16:08","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T19:16:08","slug":"seven-dining-lessons-from-seven-years-of-new-bates-commons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2015\/10\/21\/seven-dining-lessons-from-seven-years-of-new-bates-commons\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven dining lessons from seven years of ‘new’ Bates Commons"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

The Garcelon Field lights illuminate Commons on a March night. Inside is the traditional and restorative “home base” where students can gather and reconnect during mealtime. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

In the mid-2000s, as Bates worked with architect Sasaki Associates on plans for a new dining facility, it was up for grabs whether Bates would continue with its distinctive tradition of a single dining hall where everyone dines under one roof.<\/p>\n

But during their campus interviews, the architects heard a common response from students, faculty, and staff.<\/p>\n

They wanted one Commons. \u201cThe traditional model still held,\u201d says Christine Schwartz, assistant vice president for dining, conferences, and campus events.<\/p>\n

A version of this story appeared in the Fall 2015 issue of Bates Magazine<\/em>.<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cMaybe because our students are so busy, it felt even more important for them to have a home base where they can come together and reconnect over meals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bates didn\u2019t always have a single dining hall. The college once had two, one for men and one for women, until 1967, when dining became coed with the closing of the women\u2019s dining hall in Rand Hall.<\/p>\n

From then until 2008, Bates\u2019 single dining hall was Memorial Commons, in Chase Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a hip, swinging building, but it is great complement to the Bates campus.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In February 2008, the new Commons building opened. Located between Garcelon Field and Alumni Gym, at the terminus of Alumni Walk, the 60,000 square-foot structure is clad in brick, granite, slate, copper, and ample glass.<\/p>\n

In the collegiate gothic style, \u201cit is not a hip, swinging building, but it is great complement to the Bates campus, and it has enormous architectural integrity,\u201d said the late architectural critic and author Philip Isaacson \u201947.<\/p>\n

The Commons dining operation comprises one large dining hall plus two smaller dining rooms and a mezzanine; a multi-platform servery; kitchen and storage space; and office space.<\/p>\n

Showcased as case study in sustainability.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Long a leader in sustainable dining, in 2013 Bates Dining earned a third star for sustainability from the Green Restaurant Association, joining just a handful of U.S. colleges or universities with the rating.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the nonprofit Farm to Institution New England showcased Bates as a case study in sustainability.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also distinctive that Bates runs its own dining operation rather than outsourcing to a commercial food service. With some 90 employees, Dining Services serves more than 4,800 meals every day of the academic year to 1,700 students.<\/p>\n

\"Director<\/a>

Cheryl Lacey (left) and Christine Schwartz aren’t above adding some levity (and lobster claw boppers) in the service of the Bates dining experience. Lacey is director of Dining Services, and Schwartz is assistant vice president for dining, conferences, and campus events. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

As they\u2019ve turned a building into a community-builder, Schwartz and Director of Dining Cheryl Lacey recently talked about both the simple lessons they\u2019ve learned (such as \u201cnever install any shelving that\u2019s higher than your shortest employee!\u201d) and the big ones.<\/p>\n

1. Change Means Opportunity<\/h3>\n

As Bates planned its new Commons, Schwartz used the impending change as a catalyst for professional development among her staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe profile of our work was going to be very different in a new building,\u201d she says. \u201cSo we invited the staff to tell us if they wanted to do something different. If it was possible, we\u2019d help them make the move.'”<\/p>\n

The plan paid off in staff satisfaction. Longtime servers moved into the kitchen, dishroom workers moved to the bakery, and so on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some cases, this was the first time in their lives that someone asked them, \u2018What do you want <\/em>to do?\u2019\u201d says Schwartz.<\/p>\n

2. Be Trendy<\/h3>\n
\"The

The Napkin Board lets Bates students comment, criticize, request, and praise. This napkin\u2019s request for a BLT station gets a hopeful response. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

To keep tabs on changing student tastes, Lacey and Schwartz use the venerable Napkin Board, a wall in Commons where students pose questions or make comments on a napkin, and an anonymous student working for Dining Services writes replies on the napkin. (There\u2019s an online version, too.)<\/a><\/p>\n

Some fads persist, like the latest fad: Reddi-wip.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Recent napkin comments suggest that hot sauces are, well, hot. Frank\u2019s and Tabasco were big; now it\u2019s Sriracha and Tapatio.<\/p>\n

And students, surprisingly, \u201cseem to be connoisseurs of fake maple syrup,\u201d Lacey says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome requests are important today and gone tomorrow,\u201d she says. \u201cBut some persist, like the latest fad: Reddi-wip.\u201d Cereal tastes change, too. Lacey just finished a survey that shows a new favorite, Fruit and Yogurt Special K.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A recent trend in dining? Hot sauces! Thomas Sacchetti \u201916 of Princeton, N.J., a physics and math major, loves hot sauce on his chicken sandwich. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

3. Stay Flexible<\/h3>\n

The servery features a marketplace model, where students take their food from one of several platforms \u2014 the Round, with a deli, brick oven, and salad and pasta bars; the Bobcat Bar, featuring a range of hot dishes, including the famous shepherd\u2019s pie; plus the Bakery, Grill, and Choices, for alternatives such as gluten-free foods.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted versatility, and that has paid off.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Bates team resisted the temptation to define the platforms by menu item. \u201cWe didn\u2019t name a \u2018taco station,\u2019 for example,\u201d Schwartz says. \u201cWe wanted versatility, and that has paid off.\u201d<\/p>\n

The flow of diners to and from the platforms is fluid, easily handling 500 students in a 30- to 45-minute period. \u201cCombine that with open seating areas on two levels, and you have a very appealing dining environment,\u201d Schwartz says.<\/p>\n

4. It\u2019s a Classroom Too<\/h3>\n

Commons is a place to feed intellectual curiosity as well as the body, and Bates Dining gets valuable help from students and faculty who wish to conduct dining- or food-focused projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live for this sort of thing because it allows us all to be part of a larger Bates experience,\u201d Schwartz says.<\/p>\n

Recent projects have included vegan trends and a scholarly paper by two faculty members who investigated the college\u2019s 2009 H1N1 virus outbreak.<\/p>\n

A recent senior\u2019s thesis compared traditional food thermometers to a newer style, specifically looking at their self-sanitizing capacity to prevent bacterial and allergen cross-contamination. \u201cWe found out that the traditional, and much cheaper, style is more effective at preventing cross contamination,\u201d Lacey says.<\/p>\n

5. Know Your Chef<\/h3>\n

The old Bates dining operation in Chase Hall was cramped and outdated, and the chefs did their work far away from \u2014 and two floor levels below \u2014 students.<\/p>\n

Now, chefs work at platforms out front. Speaking literally and figuratively, first cook Roland Theriault notes that \u201cwe\u2019re on the same floor as everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"For<\/a>

For first cook Roland Theriault, moving from the old kitchen in Chase Hall\u2019s basement to Commons means that \u201cwe\u2019re on the same floor as everybody else\u201d \u2014 literally and figuratively. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

Theriault spent his first 19 years at Bates working in the basement of Memorial Commons. Now, at the Bobcat Bar, he gets a chance to talk with his diners.<\/p>\n

“Sometimes students just need an adult they can vent to.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For students increasingly curious about their food, this has been a boon for Bates, and for the Dining Services chefs. It\u2019s more than just a service relationship where students grill chefs on what\u2019s in the sauce.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt goes beyond that,\u201d says Schwartz. \u201cThey can talk about home, studies, life, and what\u2019s happening in their lives. Sometimes students just need an adult they can vent to.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. Trays, Begone!<\/h3>\n

Even before Bluto piled his tray high with foodstuffs in Animal<\/em> H<\/em>ouse<\/em>, the tray has been a symbol of the college dining experience.<\/p>\n

But trays are on their way out. As Bates students take more ownership of their dining experience, they treat each serving like a course in a restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"The

The only thing missing from this iconic Commons lunch scene are trays. They\u2019re on the outs. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s what we want,\u201d Schwartz says. \u201cWe don\u2019t want you to fill a tray so half the food gets cold while you eat the other half.\u201d<\/p>\n

New students still grab a tray and load up, but older students know better, Lacey says. \u201cWhen you\u2019ve been here awhile, you realize you don\u2019t need to \u2014 you don\u2019t want to!\u201d<\/p>\n

7. The Menu Is Just a Starting Point<\/h3>\n

Bates students are savvy about what they want to create by mixing and matching items from several platforms. The most popular foundations are pita pockets, bagels, tortillas, and wraps.<\/p>\n

What emerges can be anything from bruschetta to a strawberry tart, or almost anything with pesto on it.<\/p>\n

“They feel comfortable enough to say, \u2018We own this.\u2019”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A Bates version of Iron Chef last spring yielded dishes like \u201cPita with Spiced Shredded Beef and Homemade Yogurt Sauce,\u201d \u201cToasted Rosemary Borealis Turkey Sandwich,\u201d and \u201cChicken Pasta Primavera.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are invested in their food. They are always thinking about it,\u201d Schwartz says. \u201cAnd they don\u2019t want a cafeteria experience. They want a dining experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

That takes creativity, she adds. \u201cI equate it with being in your own kitchen. They feel comfortable enough to say, \u2018We own this.\u2019 And that\u2019s wicked cool.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By opening the “new” Commons seven years ago, Bates leveraged traditional qualities of community, sustainability, and excellence in its dining operation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":97452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":".repost { background: #e8e8e8; padding: 15px; margin: 15px; width: 250px; float: right; border-radius: 5px; text-align: center; line-height: 1.3em; }\r\n@media (max-width: 550px) { .repost { width: 87%; } }","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[1,11009],"tags":[10952,2246,11101,1417],"class_list":["post-97413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-batesnews","category-the-college","tag-cheryl-lacey","tag-christine-schwartz","tag-commons","tag-dining-services"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97413"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97451,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97413\/revisions\/97451"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}