UConn Dining Services wins national award for recipe made with local products
The University of Connecticut is widely known for championship basketball, but its lesser-known Department of Dining Services is a national champ as well.
The Department of Dining Services’ team recently won gold in the “Best Local Foods Recipe” category of the National Association of College and University Food Services Nutrition Awards.
The NACUFS Nutrition Awards recognize “outstanding nutrition and wellness programs implemented within collegiate food service programs to meet the needs of a dynamic student population,” according to a press release.
The UConn team won on a recipe of chicken sausage, butternut squash and kale hand pies with lemon ricotta that is served at Whitney Dining Hall.
“Everyone on our team is so excited. They work so hard the entire year,” said Robert Landolphi, assistant director of culinary development for UConn Dining Services. “Most importantly, we have a student body that dines with us daily and is willing to share with us what is important to them as they assist us in expanding our local and regional purchases.”
According to Landolphi, UConn’s Department of Dining Services has 425 employees, including 150 chefs and assistant chefs. The experiments with recipes are done in the “Innovation Lab,” where they’re tasted and feedback is shared.
This year’s competition focused on the use of local food items. As part of the winning criteria, judges were looking at the number of farms and local businesses supported. The chicken sausage was from Longhini Sausage in New Haven, the ricotta from Calabro Cheese in East Haven and the produce from Connecticut farms, as well as UConn’s own Spring Valley Student Farm.
Last year’s competition, which UConn also won, put the spotlight on vegan recipes. That winning recipe was for cinnamon chipotle cachapas with black bean avocado salsa and pickled red onions, also created by Landolphi.
UConn Dining Services has received 21 awards from NACUFS in the last 15 years for recipes, dining hall renovations, gluten-free options, culinary challenges, catering and sustainability initiatives.
Landolphi said UConn has the second-largest self-operating dining program in the country, making 185,000 meals a week. Dining Services is also the largest purchaser of Connecticut-grown produce.
The university, which offers cuisine from around the world, has eight residential dining halls and a retail operation self-branded concept. They also operate a full bakery. All locations are open to the public.
Landolphi, who has been with UConn for 21 years, said back in the day, universities only had one or two eateries. That has all changed.
“Now if you walk into a dining hall you’ll have a variety,” he said, including a bar with cooked-to-order selections.
Landolphi said the university crowd is also changing their eating habits. “They’re making healthier choices.”
He said students have varied eating styles such as vegetarian, vegan and pescatarian.
“It’s really, really come full circle,” he said. “Dining with colleges and universities is more of an experience.”
For the winning recipe, visit dining.uconn.edu/recipes.