By Steven Viera || Managing Editor
Last Thursday, Feb. 19, Sodexo hosted the event Chef’s Fare in the Restaurants at Ben Franklin from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Chef’s Fare is held once every semester.
“We’re part of a Sodexo district, so all the schools that are assigned to our district participate,” said Thomas Long, executive chef at F&M.
Six chefs from within the local Sodexo district participated in Chef’s Fare, including Chef Tom from F&M, cooking French cuisine; Chef Mark from F&M, cooking Scottish; Chef Rodney from Cabrini College, cooking American; Chef Bryan from Stevenson College, cooking Chinese; Chef Craig from Ursinus College, cooking Australian; and Chef Tom from Keystone College, cooking Greek. A number of specialty desserts were also available, such as carrot cake, New Orleans-style beignets, and more.
“Chef’s Fare is to give students a focus on variety and, also, it’s a chance to showcase some of our chef’s talent that we have in the district,” Long said. “All the chefs in here, within the next four or five weeks, I’ll be traveling to their schools.”
Following the meal, students received slips of paper where they could vote on which dish they felt was their favorite. Long explained that Sodexo will review this feedback and then use it to influence what items they put on their menu.
“[For example], if the winning dish is salmon, it’s a sign we should put more salmon on the menu,” Long said.
In addition to showcasing chef’s talent and gathering student feedback, Long indicated that there is another function of the evening.
“It’s to give the students something different — some variety — a very special occasion,” he said. “A culinary experience.”
Junior Steven Viera is the Managing Editor. His email is sviera@fandm.edu. Photo by Senior Editor Scott Onigman.