Tufts University Dining Services (TUDS) held its first Taste & Tell Dinner, a recipe sampling event, last night in Dewick−MacPhie and Carmichael Dining Halls.
TUDS created the event to collect student feedback on new recipes, according to Carmichael Chef Manager Peter Kourafalos.
At the event, students in both dining halls were able to try entrees, sides, sauces and desserts that have not often appeared on the menu this fall.
TUDS distributed comment cards to students throughout the night, according to Tufts Nutrition Marketing Specialist Julie Lampie. Students who returned their cards were entered into a raffle, she added.
TUDS plans to take students' feedback into consideration when determining which dishes to make a permanent part of the dining halls' menu, Lampie said.
"We're hoping that student have fun with it, participate and give us feedback so we can create menus that are more popular," Lampie said. "Students get tired of the same old food and variety makes for happy customers."
New entrees on the menu included a Bloody Mary flank steak, grilled chicken with an avocado citrus sauce and shrimp enchilada.
TUDS also presented a number of new vegetarian dishes, including chipotle tamale pie and Tom Kha tofu, and vegetables like sauteed spinach with toasted sesame seed oil and roasted pumpkin with cranberries and sage. The Carmichael stir−fry station featured the popular Korean dish Bibimbap.
Every year, TUDS employees work to try out new recipes and perfect them in terms of taste and yield before adding them to the menu in the fall, Kourafalos said.
Sampling events are helpful in order to determine what students like and dislike, Lampie explained.
"We thought instead of having us dictate what should or should not go on a menu, why not let students have the opportunity to sample the items?" Lampie said.
The new recipes came from a variety of sources.
"The recipes come from anyone, such as a cook, one of the managers or even one of the students," Kourafalos said.
The vodka pasta sauce featured at the Taste & Tell Dinner was a student's suggestion that TUDS took from a note on a comment board, according to Kourafalos.
The vegetarian Tom Kha tofu dish was a winning recipe from the vegetarian recipe contest that TUDS hosted last spring, according to Lampie.
When looking for new recipes, TUDS takes into consideration the large number of vegetarians on campus, available local produce and the food marketplace, Lampie said.
"We research recipes in culinary magazines that are on the cutting edge of the culinary field," Dewick−MacPhie Unit Manager John Beaulac said.
New recipes focused on unprocessed foods and "scratch cookery," which TUDS is seeking in new menu items, according to Lampie.
"The majority of the items we do on a daily basis are produced here," Kourafalos said. "To be honest, I think we get a more wholesome and better quality product that way."
