The East Servery

The final large servery is being built currently and slated to open in January 2011; is coming out of the ground. The servery is intended to connect Will Rice and Lovett Colleges with a possible expansion in the future to connect Sid Rich College. As we move away from the small servery model to the larger, I am excited by the prospect of running more efficient operation so the cost savings can be realized in order to provide more options for students. Let’s hope there are no hurricanes or other event that would low this project down.

In the meantime, we are preparing food at the South Servery for Lovett and Will Rice and this is quite the challenge to say the least! When this project and the Baker kitchen project is completed, we will have four large serveries connected to nine colleges with only Baker and Sid Rich as stand-alone concepts. The total on-campus residents are projected to be 2,700 which will translate into roughly 6000+ meals per day!

David

Blame you; Blame me…

Leave it my home state of California to try and regulate a toy out of Happy Meal! This is a really misguided and hollow attempt that deludes one into thinking this will end the problem with eating unhealthy food by children. Are you serious? The age range of children that would want a little toy in a Happy Meal is that of those still under the guidance and supervision of the parents. Do you really think there are 18 and over’s going to McDonald’s for a happy meal to get a toy? Really?

Come on fellow parents; get with the program and keep the legislature out of our business and stop taking your children to eat unhealthy food on a regular basis. By the way, do they really need a toy to get children to eat this stuff anyway? I doubt it, but I am sure the marketing helps. When your child wants to go get a Happy Meal with a toy, the answer is so simple; NO! Not today! Please do not empower the legislature strip your power and responsibility of being a parent please… Be a responsible parent...

This just makes me crazy…

David

Obesity is NOW

There has been yet another study showing the increased obesity trend in the US among primarily male children. This is simply overwhelming and disconcerting to say the least. It is more important than ever for two things to happen here.

I will state this without a fear of back-lash, “If you feed your family fast food on a regular basis, you are lazy and failing as a parent.” There, I said it…

First, we as responsible parents must take the initiative to cook and have family meals together. Kid’s love to cook, so be sure to include them… Cooking healthy food that tastes good is not difficult with a little practice. A wide variety of vegetables can be prepared within minutes. Meals should be a communal experience that not only nourish the body, but bring the family together. This is how I remember my childhood… I will be the first to admit that I failed to do this in recent years with the chaos of two children, but finally figured it out and the experience is good for the whole family. We sit down every night at 6:30 pm and commune. Fast food fails to do all of these things… eating fast, unhealthy, and not necessarily together.

Secondly, large scale food manufacturers must change their ingredient profiles and thankfully this is starting to occur. This is still no excuse not to sit down and eat a home cooked meal with your family though. No matter the change in ingredients from processed foods, there will always be a component of preservatives which I guarantee you will be unhealthy.

At Rice University, we have taken the “cook at home” approach to our kitchens, and I am also happy to say that the “college system” here actually provides the surrogate; communal family experience as well. Remember to ask yourself constantly, “Are you eating what you need? Or what you want?”

David

Eat fresh: Serveries reduce salt, sugar, saturated fat

Here is a story in our student newspaper The Thresher about our nutrition efforts at Rice University...

Under fire are what Director of Residential Dining David McDonald calls the 3 S's: salt, sugar and saturated fat. All of these elements are over-represented in most American diets, and they are contributing to a growing obesity epidemic. McDonald said the goal is to lower these unhealthy elements, which are omnipresent in prepared and processed foods, by 50 percent. The shift began earlier this semester and has been a gradual progression. So far, McDonald said he has heard no complaints.

Assault on Salt

I wrote a few weeks back about Rice University dedicating to itself to the reduction of salt in food preparation and it has been going great without any comments at all. As the Washington Times just reported, large manufacturers and a possible regulation by the FDA plans to reduce salt in many manufactured products. I had been reported that 77% of the entire salt intake is via processed foods. This is scary due to the fact that most families rely on processed or fast foods to make-up their diet.

It is really OK to add a little salt to your freshly prepared; from scratch meal, but the problem is that processed foods use salt that is uncontrollable by the consumer. Even worse, adding salt to processed foods… I am absolutely for the reduction of salt and Pepsi, General, Mills, and others have dedicated that they will reduce by 25% over ten years. This comes as the FDA begins discussing the possible regulation, but the industry, driven by market pressure has done so on its own; which I wholly applaud as the basis of market capitalism.

I actually read an argument by the salt industry that there is no proof that salt is harmful to one’s health, but I think this can be rejected easily as a lobbying attempt against regulation. Do you blame them? Anyway, I have also heard some political pundits incensed over the regulation of what one can consume or not consume. It is a standard argument against freedom of choice, but this is pure rhetoric. You still have the choice to add salt to your food to the detriment of your own health.

The low-sodium products on the market have been quoted as selling abysmally and I believe the reason why is that consumer sentiment will inherently perceive less salt as less flavor. In order to get around this, the manufacturer will simple lower the salt and not even advertise this fact. Just do it! That is what we did in our University… Just took out the salt, created our own blend of “Owl-Spice” and did not tell anyone. If I were to advertise no or less salt, I am sure I would have received calls about food tasting less favorable. “Out of sight, out of mind”

The proper direction is ultimately to eat much less processed food and in the University realm, cook with scratch ingredients.

David

Eat what you Need, Not what you Want

Well, Saturday was a good day with a well attended conference called Epicuriosities regarding local/sustainable foods. The panel I was on was well represented by farmers, advocates, and a large scale produce company. I have to say there was some very spirited debate which is beneficial to all food-kind. Unfortunately, student representation was very small and only helps to solidify my concerns with the apathy towards a more healthful environment and food supply here at Rice. All the more reason to make the changes to the health and wellness of food regardless of the student input since I receive virtually none.

A common theme among speakers was the notion that we should eat what we need rather than what we want… This of course is the opposite in our real everyday lives... We certainly do not eat at Taco Bell because we need to, but rather because we want to. After thinking for a few day’s about this, I am more convinced that University Dining in general and here at Rice should be focused on menu’s that are sustainable to our health i.e. what we need. It is often easiest to serve food that students want in order to appease the masses, but this does little in the way of education about dining and nutrition.

The question of local sustainable food from Houston was heated and while I listened to several view points, I believe that the larger corporate model wins out here… The fact that 80% of all in-season produce comes from California speaks volumes about why we can’t produce here in Texas at a higher rate. After all, if we could, we would! What does it take to shift the sources of food? Climate and soil conditions must be altered. This of course is not going to happen and we must make other considerations of which I am unclear about.

A little about what I call “funny looking food.” One vendor brought carrots straight out of the ground that were grown organically. They were absolutely beautiful by the way. Guess what though? They did not all look the same and had legs and fingers growing off them. One student mentioned this to me that those carrots looked funny and would prefer to eat a more uniform carrot. I find this is the same with Texas Oranges that are slightly off-colored, but sweet anyway. The students would not touch an orange unless it was bright orange in color because this is what society has trained us to view an orange as. In order to become more locally-centered around food, we must get over our preconceived notion that all food comes out of the ground or off a tree the same shape, color, and size at all times. The reason we see it this way in the stores is due to the sorting procedures of processors.

All in all, I believe that once our preconceived notions about how food is supposed to look, we can return to our roots and enjoy slow food even if it is slightly off color or has an extra arm or leg growing from it. I am not referring to GMO products; just the natural order of things that grow in the ground or on a tree.

David

The Food Miles Map is Coming...

In response to a class project here at Rice and some student interest, we have commissioned a Google map which will outline where our ingredients are coming from and the distance they travel to Houston. There are several purposes in mind... We want to know where all 500+ raw ingredients are coming from and if we can then negotiate with our suppliers to source closer to Houston. Although we could have done this behind the scenes, we felt that an open an honest approach to our sources is beneficial so that students could possibly help us in this endeavor. Here is a sneak peak at what will be coming... The data represented is not accurate nor even close to the final project data. This is simply a mock up... Enjoy...

David
Click the picture to see full detail...

Epicuriosities

Save Your Planet and Eat It, Too! I am looking forward to being a panelist at this student driven initiative in the Wiess Commons Saturday from 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. Having worked with many student groups and classroom projects this last year, I believe that students here at Rice are woefully uninformed about what Dining Services has done and is going to do in the face of increasing health problems and the importance of sustainability.

Just today, there was an opinion article in the Thresher about the need to go green at Rice and although I felt the author was right on target, the failure to include any of the things we have accomplished this year and our future goals was disingenuous. In essence, it is a marketing problem within Dining Services that needs to be solved. We are working on that too.

Our Dining Website includes many things relating to Wellness and Sustainability and I am really unsure that students are referring to these pages. If they are, there seems to be a large amount of apathy since I receive virtually no comments from the general student body (none actually) about food accept from the food groups and interested organizations.

Anyway, I am really excited to reference the great things we have done in the areas of health, wellness, and sustainability at the conference tomorrow and encourage those who wish to know what we are doing to attend. Here is a link to their blog…

See you tomorrow,

David

Some Oil is Good for You

There has been a large assault on oil over the last decade with a shift by the industry to more healthful oil such as, Soy, Canola, and Olive. It is generally accepted by well run dining operations that these are three best and here at Rice we only use the three. Soy oil is used for frying; canola oil is used for salad dressing, and olive oil for pastas. What has been used less or eliminated is the use of traditional vegetable oils and those with trans-fat. That’s a good thing. Or is it?

Certainly the trans-fat free oils that have been eliminated are a good thing, but it is still necessary for some oil consumption in a healthy diet. A recent study about Omega-6 oils shows that without it, higher rates of ulcerative dermatitis may occur. The body does not produce Omega-6 so it is necessary to obtain it through the diet. Vegetable oils are a good source.

This of course correlates to the studies about Omega-3 oils generally found in fish which is one reason that seafood has been served at a higher rate in our operation here at Rice over the last several years. Omega-3 has also showed up in vitamins and even pre-natal vitamins with a theory that brain development in infants is increased. Please use sustainable seafood if you please!

Anyway, the point is that it is necessary to balance your diet and understand that even though certain ingredients are considered unhealthy in certain forms and in large amounts, some of these foods such as oils are necessary for our survival. Eat well…

David

Water Bottles, Cavities, & Death

I know, the title seems to be a stretch, but just give me a moment of your time and I will take you on a journey through my mind… There was once a television program entitled Connections hosted by James Burke that would take seemingly random events through history and evolve the connection of the events to a relevant modern evolution. So I have a little geek in me, but there are a couple of thing that have been bothering me and I thought I could use the shows platform for literary analogy.

First off, I despise the use and production of water bottles! Not only do I dislike the plastic bottle itself, but the fact that water is purchased and consumed from a bottle. I have never had a problem drinking tap water and in most cases filling up a reusable container of tap water when I am on the go. What is the big deal? Taste? Then add a slice of lemon, lime, or cucumbers… If you have never had cucumber flavored water, you are missing out by the way. Anyway, I digress…

Many years ago, I learned of the Great Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch and was intrigued by the way that this garbage would collect and swirl in the immensity of the Pacific Ocean upwards of 4 million tons of it. I have followed with intrigue the many studies and efforts to clean it up, but am still dissatisfied with the reporting and results. One of the most striking things about the patch is the amount of plastic. It is carried by the currents and caught up in a vortex of current that creates the patch estimated to be as large as Texas. I am absolutely awe struck that so much garbage has been deposited into our great oceans. I mentioned death in the title because this garbage patch is surely killing and maiming aquatic life. Cavities you say?

There has been a recent study in Science Daily that drinking bottled water or not drinking tap water is causing higher instances of tooth decay. The reason is fairly simple, fluoride is added to our drinking water supply, but filtered out in the manufacturing of bottled water. You don’t like chlorine added to your tap water? I actually prefer this over the many diseases you could get if it was not present. Add some cucumbers and you are good-to-go. In other words, drinking tap water helps fight tooth decay while decreasing the garbage patch by not purchasing water bottles made of plastic ending up in the Pacific Ocean killing the marine life. So you see, Water Bottles = Cavities = Death – There you have the connections in true James Burke form.

David

Soda Taxes - Blah

There was a recent article about a study that showed small soda taxes did not lessen the consumption of such, but that a larger one would… Well, charging more for an item through higher taxes in my opinion does not a help a bit. Why? The soda company will lower their prices to compensate. Yes, the soda company will make less net profit on a product, but they will also find ways to make the soda at a cheaper cost and offsetting the tax and the lowering of the product price.

These studies (and there have been many) always look good on paper, but they fail to take into account so many variables… I prefer a more holistic approach to reducing the unhealthy aspects of soda. It is possible to make soda healthier, but the fact remains that it will still be unhealthy to a certain degree. Lessening consumption is really the only way. Taxing the item will not work and only create a further burden on incomes when other items replace the offset cost. That is if the soda company does not offset the taxes themselves, which is highly more likely anyway.

Pepsi has taken the proper action by vowing to reduce sugar, fat, and sodium by 25% over the next decade. This is what the market is calling for and I believe it is the correct first step in the process to reduce obesity and poor diets. Taxing everything unhealthy is simply a way to line the government coffers via your income and at the expense of net profit to a soda company. Which by the way pay a huge amount of taxes as it is…

David

Molecular Gastronomy

OK, this is just too cool not to try in a large dining operation. Molecular Gastronomy marries taste, chemistry, and “state of mind” into a completely different dining experience with possible flavors and textures that could be endless! Rice University is a research university heavily based in chemistry and I think the student body would respond to such cooking practices with spirit and intrigue.

My Senior Executive Chef is very excited and would like to explore this further as would I. Interestingly enough; one of my managers here has a degree in the sciences and could actually help with the exploration and premise of this style of cooking. I never thought I would have a chance to merge chemistry into food, but the emergence of this could absolutely be the future of cooking! I am convinced it will at least garner more support in the future.

Like any new science in its infancy, there will be a lot of breakthroughs to come and evolving ideas to compound the exploration. I believe Rice University could be the first in the country to try this on a large scale with the talent we have here. I have ordered a full research report on this subject and will report back with what we find next month.

This is just to cool and edgy not to try!

David

The Nightmare Scenario

It was recently reported by Harvard via the Boston Globe that a case of the norovirus struck the Faculty Club forcing them to voluntarily close. This is one of a few nightmare scenarios for Dining Directors because the PR situation unfolds very negatively. The first thought is that an unclean or unsanitary environment causes such a thing, but in the case of the norovirus, this is not necessarily true.

The norovirus symptoms often mimic a food borne illness such as salmonella and are often confused with such, but this is not the case. When there is a verifiable food borne illness outbreak, the cause is usually a contaminated product that was purchased or a product prepared incorrectly. Having seen the facility at Harvard years ago, I can tell you this is surely not the case. The norovirus can actually be a larger PR headache than food borne illness due to the fact that many people can be sickened without a determining cause easily found.

We here about the “cruise ship syndrome” often whereby passengers are sickened with the norovirus and forced to return to a port. The virus, like the flu, can be carried and transmitted unknown to the carrier. Unfortunately, it is quite virulent and can spread quickly on properly prepared food that has come into contact with the carrier. A very good policy in the dining workplace is to not allow any employee to work sick.

We can’t prevent every occurrence of food borne illness or the norovirus from affecting our operations, but following the food and safety guidelines for sanitation with policies in affect to keep sick employees out of the work place certainly minimizes the risk. I feel sorry for Harvard’s dining program to have to go through this and “I knock on wood” that this never happens in our facility. The saving grace for a program like Harvard’s and here at Rice is due to the fact that we are highly regarded in the industry and if something does happen, it is often considered a fluke rather than an unsanitary condition or bad policy.

Good luck Harvard with containing this outbreak.

David

All Natural CAB

I am really excited about a demonstration today to on-board our entire beef supply using All Natural CAB beef. We have been using three cuts of the hormone free/antibiotic free CAB for about a year now thanks to Chef Roger (CEC), ACE) creating a scratch made burger and meat sauce last year. The cuts we use currently are: inside round, brisket, and shoulder clod. The combinations of such are our secret, but I can tell you it is a superior burger and meat sauce!

The decision to go across the board will depend on a negotiated price and the chefs’ acceptance of the product. If successful, we will have All Natural CAB for everything including fajitas! I think this is unprecedented in university dining and I am encouraged by the response from the CAB supplier to do this which they say would be the first in the country.

This of course is dependent upon the skill level of our team. In order to afford the product at all, we need skilled chefs that can trim and butcher whole beef following strict HACCP guidelines in preparation. This is not for the faint of heart I can tell you! If you decide to do this, you may even be required to have a special permit as a butcher shop. The way we get around this is by preparing the product in each individual servery rather from a central location. Fortunately, we have the talent and skill to do this in all of our kitchens. As I said before, “all natural” will be the buzz of the decade and I look forward to on-boarding more products that meet those standards.

David

Chef Dash?

As I was talking about earlier with regards to reducing the 3 S’s (sodium, saturated fat, and sugar), we have finally started to implement the sodium reduction. We are substituting Mrs. Dash seasoning for salt we use in the kitchen. Mrs. Dash uses a combination of herbs and potassium as the sodium substitute. A pretty good product I might add.

How’s it going? Well, I tried the sautéed green beans yesterday and thought they were a little bland so I think the answer lies in finding the right proportion to use. We originally thought that a one-to-one replacement of Mrs. Dash to salt would be fine, but I am thinking that it could be a two-to-one replacement. I will keep you updated.

I am really excited about this development to reduce sodium and I think that it is a first good step. I was recently invited to a conference to talk about these issues and will probably attend. The conference is hosted by Food Service Director Magazine and sponsored by Hormel Foods. It will be small group of self-operated Dining Directors to map out a vision for the future. I will let you know how it turns out. Overall, I believe we are on the right track nutritionally and I am encouraging all Universities to do the same.

David