Beloit College Archives

In this 1935 photo, female co-eds gather at tables for a meal served family-style. Formal dining was the norm for earlier generations of Beloiters. Protocol dictated that women wear street clothes for all meals and "heels and hose" for Sunday dinners. Male students were largely absent because they ate at fraternity houses or in a dining room located in the Chapin Hall annex.

What will it be tonight ... Dakota-style beef and pork on a bun? Thai seitan curry? Or California-blended vegetables on a bed of fluffy white rice?

Welcome to Commons, Beloit's main student dining hall, where the crew serves up a contemporary dining experience informed by a decades-old mission. Gone are the days when broccoli casserole, powdered mashed potatoes, and an unidentifiable meat patty were the main dishes du jour. Beloit students now choose their daily sustenance from a menu geared to even the pickiest palate. Whether it's stir-fry, hot off the Fresco Grille, made-to-order omelets, or three heaping bowls of Lucky Charms, diners have an almost dizzying array of options.

"Students today have a level of sophistication about what they eat," explains Bill Behling, director of Beloit's food services. "They are willing to explore and experiment with new things."

They also expect a great deal more from the campus food service than did their predecessors. Much of this generation of college students grew up with fast-food vendors in their high school cafeterias and a Starbucks on nearly every urban street corner. Used to eating out with family and friends, stopping to grab a quick bite from mall food courts, and drinking bottled water, they were weaned on flexible eating schedules and self-serve meals.

Photo by Greg Anderson

Those who come to Beloit from environments where healthy eating was encouraged usually make a concerted effort to maintain those habits at school. But even they may gain a few of the "freshman 15"—extra pounds that no one likes to tote around.

That said, the Beloit College food service program strives to meet the dietary needs and preferences of students by giving them a strong sense of ownership. At a time when many U.S. colleges and universities are contracting with large corporate food service providers, Beloit elected to bring the business in-house. That transition, in 1997, marked a new era and greater opportunities for innovation.

"Most new ideas we adopt are student-driven," Behling says, citing the recent addition of the Fresco Grille, which evolved from student interest in stir-fry. "They can make a difference if they want to. That's what makes Beloit unique."

The dining room isn't all that far from the classroom, a fact that has led to more than a few changes in how Commons' food is purchased and prepared.

Photo by Greg Anderson

Alyssa Coriell'06, who lobbied for more whole grains at Commons after taking a nutrition class, chooses her dinner items carefully. On her tray? Stir-fried rice with veggies and seitan, an orange, green tea, water, and Diet Coke.

Emma Slachta'06 (Holland, Mich.) and Alyssa Coriell'06 (Colorado Springs, Colo.) are a case in point. Last fall, both enrolled in Biochemistry Issues: Nutrition, a popular class taught by Roc Ordman, professor of chemistry and biochemistry. The class provides non-science majors with an introduction to the process of scientific inquiry by having them study healthy approaches to eating.

"As soon as science becomes applicable, students become very enthusiastic," Ordman says. "So I teach them how to develop intriguing questions, find legitimate answers, and then tell people about it."

Coriell, a psychology major and health care studies minor, and Slachta, a sociology major, each say they had good eating habits before arriving at Beloit but little understanding of the science that informs basic nutritional principles. Fired up by what they learned in Ordman's class, they launched a campus-wide initiative to educate fellow students about the benefits of whole-grain breads and pastas over processed flour products.

Together, they distributed an informational flyer about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's newly revised food pyramid and later developed a petition requesting the addition of more whole-grain options to Commons' regular fare.

Slachta, who occasionally submitted vegetarian recipes to the chef for consideration, admits that the petition was not really needed to implement change in Commons' menu, since Behling had already ordered organic whole-grain products.

"But it was a good way to gauge how many people would like to see such a change," she says. Seated at a table outside Commons' main doors, she and Coriell entreated fellow students to sign the petition. "Discourse started from that—we'd flip over a bread bag, look at the ingredients list, and talk about it. The petition was a way to facilitate learning."

Photo by Greg Anderson

At final tally, the petition garnered 510 signatures, an impressive number on a campus where the entire dining population numbers around 1,100.

Ordman says that such initiatives are as much about developing negotiation and persuasion skills as learning about nutritional guidelines.

"These kids will be in leadership positions in the future, so they need to learn about key issues in the public forum and how to disseminate information that makes policies sensible," he says. "It helps them to understand what it takes to be a leader in society. Students learn how to do the right thing, as opposed to the thing that everybody else does."

Doing the right thing can be as simple as choosing well from Commons' extensive smorgasbord. Each of the two self-serve entree food lines typically carry one vegetarian, one vegan (containing no animal byproducts), and two meat dishes. Fresh, made-to-order stir-fries are offered three times a week at the Fresco Grille—a stir-fry station with two cooks behind woks.

Photo by Greg Anderson

Josh Conway'07 (Janesville, Wis.) gathers dinner in Commons. Nearly every student milling around the dining hall carries four to five tiny glasses filled with their drinks of choice. The pint-sized scale of the glassware is one of the great mysteries: "Everyone wonders about the glasses," Conway laughs.

Staples are the cereal and salad bars, the deli counter, the soup station (featuring one vegetarian and one meat-based soup), hot waffle irons with fresh batter standing ready, a bread and bagel table, dessert trays, and soft-serve yogurt and ice-cream machines.

While the cooks prepare an array of healthful dishes each day, there are plenty of fattening foods and sweets to tempt even the most disciplined eaters. "If it is red, deep-fried, or on a bun ... it will be eaten," Behling grins. "Chicken strips trump everything."

Coriell says that many students suddenly find themselves having to change long-established ways of eating. "It's a huge adjustment to go from snacking regularly to eating three times a day and having a time-limit when food is available," she says. Like other students, she often grabs a snack at D.K.'s Snack Bar or the Java Joint coffee shop, two smaller venues located in Pearsons Hall, nearer the campus academic buildings. But the atmosphere at Commons keeps drawing her back.

"The people at Commons are so accommodating. They do everything they can to make eating there comfortable."

Good cheer is a key ingredient in the Commons social brew. Even during the dinner hour, when long lines snake past the Fresco Grille and students cluster around different food stations, there's an easy familiarity between them and the staff.

"Commons is students' space; this is their house when they are here," Behling says. "They know the lady working the deli line and that Gwen will be greeting them at the door. We are all part of a larger family."

This extended family has its share of inside jokes. "Theme" meals are big at Beloit, where an offbeat moniker and fun presentation might be enough to entice students away from the cereal bar. One memorable morning, early risers were treated to "Shake and Eggs"—breakfast fixings and strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla shakes blended by none other than President Burris. On nights when the Fresco Grille is sizzling, diners line up for such appetizing fare as "Fungus Among Us," a mushroom-based stir-fry, and "Escargot a GoGo," a concoction made out of fresh vegetables and snails. Other events staged throughout the academic year include Kindergarten Days (with plates of SpaghettiOs, fish sticks, and coloring books) and Bad Movie Night (offering a ready supply of chips, soda, and cheesy cinema).

Photo by Greg Anderson

Family-style can also mean bringing a taste of home to campus. When Executive Chef Peter Kraemer'89 receives a specific family-recipe request from a student—such as a recent one for grilled salmon—that person can invite up to six friends for a sit-down dinner replete with table linens.

Students also put their own stamp on events like International Week, during which they work with Kraemer to create menus that include cuisine from different parts of the world. At other times, various campus clubs take charge of the kitchen to prepare delectables. A "Cookies and Milk" table in the dining hall features cookies that students make out of recipes that are personal favorites.

Taking ownership means students have to be proactive about what they would like to see on the menu.

"Vegans tend to be vocal," Behling says. "They have to champion their own cause, and that is a good thing."

Part of the challenge that Kraemer and the other food service cooks sometimes face is converting recipes—taking a student-recommended dish and figuring out how to make enough of it to serve hundreds. It is an effort they are willing to make, though, if it means that students are happier.

Photo by Greg Anderson

A mainstay of Commons dining options is the deli.

Entrees on the self-serve food lines are labeled so that individuals with dietary restrictions can make appropriate choices about what they eat. Moreover, food service staff make special arrangements for holidays and holy weeks so that students can honor their religious or cultural traditions.

"What we're doing here is mass-feeding," Behling allows. "We try to disguise that by personalizing it as much as possible."

To be sure, a certain amount of grumbling can be heard among the captive population of diners. But food service personnel and even students suggest that at least some of the dissatisfaction is rooted in dated prejudices about college cafeterias and a tradition of students complaining about dining hall food.

"I love it when they come back from break and are happy to be here because they have choices ... instead of at home, where you eat what Mom makes and that's it!" Kraemer says.

Even though she's a senior and eligible to sign off the College meal plan, Coriell has elected to keep eating at Commons.

"I am always amazed by the variety of foods available, how bountiful it is," she says. "And the personal interactions that occur in Commons really add to the community that Beloit is so proud to have."

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For more about Beloit's food service program, including an entertaining summary of what students eat in the course of an academic year, log on at www.beloit.edu/foodservice/. Nutrition research posters created by students in Roc Ordman's Biochemistry Issues: Nutrition class can be viewed at: http://beloit.edu/~ordman/

Mix culinary talent with good humor, and serve Photo by Greg Anderson Peter Kraemer'89, a.k.a. Chef Peter, is executive chef for Beloit's main dining hall. It's Thursday night in Commons, and that means one thing to Beloit students: stir-fry. Standing behind one of two wok stations at the Fresco Grille is Peter Kraemer'89 —affectionately known to students and staff as "Chef Peter." He skillfully works three woks, tossing diced vegetables, shrimp, and seasonings with a flourish, even as he jokes with the students who stand in line waiting to place their orders. A professional chef for more than a dozen years, Kraemer long ago mastered the art of cooking, customer service, and exchanging playful banter with Beloiters over food. In fact, he cut his teeth in the food service industry by serving as the first student manager of catering for the College in the mid-1980s. "It was the first job I ever had, and it set me on the road to what I wanted to do with my life." Kraemer displayed an early talent in the kitchen. As a kid growing up in Thailand—where his father worked for an oil company—he prepared dishes for his parents' dinner parties. Later, while studying studio art at Beloit, he concocted microwave meals out of items collected from Commons' salad and beverage bars. "I figured out how to make alfredo sauce and this other dish out of tuna fish, cheddar cheese, and lettuce." Today, he is apt to throw open one of Commons' industrial-size freezers to inventory available ingredients before deciding what to whip up. Weekly menus are planned in advance, but Kraemer enjoys experimenting and assisting the staff cooks. "I'm pretty hands-on," he says. "Sometimes I cook too much, but it is collaborative." Supervising food preparation for as many as 1,000 diners each day doesn't faze him. "Most of the time I find it easy," he says. "It is really a matter of confidence and timing." That confidence was nurtured in the 21 months he spent training at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. After graduating, he worked for several restaurants and resorts around the United States, learning the restaurant and hotel management business and serving an internship under New York restaurateur Bobby Flay in his acclaimed Fifth Avenue eatery, the Mesa Grill. While visiting Beloit during Homecoming 1996, Kraemer noticed that the College had hired a professional chef for Commons. "So I found (Director of Food Services) Bill Behling and asked him why he hadn't contacted me," Kraemer says. "He said, 'Honestly, I never thought of calling you.'" Photo by Greg Anderson Chef Peter whips up a few cheese quesadillas for hungry diners. But Behling did think of Kraemer less than a year later, when the chef's position was vacated. At the time, Kraemer was working for a four-star hotel in St. Louis and looking either to move up in the company or move on. He returned to Beloit in May 1997 as the new assistant director of food services, building manager, and executive chef. "Beloit has a different atmosphere compared to restaurants, and running the operations requires a completely different way of looking at things," he says. "But still, as a cook, you're working off a base set of skills. Mostly, you just work with a combination of ingredients and processes." In addition to placing food orders and handling lunch and dinner service six days a week, Kraemer supervises as many as 12 full-time food service employees and the 15 or so students hired each term. "Working with students is usually fun; they are not shy about speaking their minds, but they are always willing to listen," he says. College lunches turn into a family affair for Kraemer when his wife, Kalynn Matjasko Kraemer'91, and daughters Elinor, 6, and Katie, 2, drop by to share the feast and fun. Seated at one of Commons' dining tables, they are a welcome addition to the lunch crowd, which includes students, College staff, and a regular group of faculty. "At this point in my life and career, I can't imagine myself anywhere other than Beloit College," he says.

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