Comments on: Diversity on the menu at University of Winnipeg http://savourwinnipeg.com/2009/09/08/diversity-on-the-menu-at-university-of-winnipeg/ Celebrating foodie finds and destination dining in Winnipeg Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:53:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: KS http://savourwinnipeg.com/2009/09/08/diversity-on-the-menu-at-university-of-winnipeg/comment-page-1/#comment-59 KS Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:31:24 +0000 http://savourwinnipeg.wordpress.com/?p=825#comment-59 I do not see much of an improvement, if any, to the previous food service provider. Perhaps the one area where they excel is that their staff seems much friendlier than the cafeteria employees have in the past. That being said, the food offered by this company is EXTREMELY lacking in variety and the prices are certainly not any better than they were, in fact, I think they are higher. On top of this, several people I have spoken with agree that many food items lack flavor. Everyday the same few salads are available in the cafeteria and, for those of us who are not interested in a chickpea salad, a bland potato salad, or a salad with balsamic vinegar, it's just plain old boring. It seems to me that the chef's/cooks are making what appeals to them (or catering to a certain type of eater) without really taking the entire university population into consideration. While I wasn't a huge fan of the previous food provider I find myself wishing they would return - at least they tried to have more options and offer a little bit of variety. Perhaps things will improve as they go along, they have just started after all. I hope that they will actively pursue feedback from students/staff and truly try to take their advice and make improvements. My advice: More options/variety please. Students like ready made items as they are sometimes in a hurry to get to class and need something quick. It would be nice to see different types of salad in your fridge and some more ready made sandwich options (not just wraps). I did eat the free style breakfast from the cafeteria and have to admit it was tasty, however, I found it frustrating that the next time I went to order it the price had been raised and I'm fairly positive the breakfast had been changed to only feature one piece of toast instead of two. Why raise the price??? I do not see much of an improvement, if any, to the previous food service provider. Perhaps the one area where they excel is that their staff seems much friendlier than the cafeteria employees have in the past.

That being said, the food offered by this company is EXTREMELY lacking in variety and the prices are certainly not any better than they were, in fact, I think they are higher. On top of this, several people I have spoken with agree that many food items lack flavor. Everyday the same few salads are available in the cafeteria and, for those of us who are not interested in a chickpea salad, a bland potato salad, or a salad with balsamic vinegar, it’s just plain old boring. It seems to me that the chef’s/cooks are making what appeals to them (or catering to a certain type of eater) without really taking the entire university population into consideration.

While I wasn’t a huge fan of the previous food provider I find myself wishing they would return – at least they tried to have more options and offer a little bit of variety.

Perhaps things will improve as they go along, they have just started after all. I hope that they will actively pursue feedback from students/staff and truly try to take their advice and make improvements.

My advice: More options/variety please. Students like ready made items as they are sometimes in a hurry to get to class and need something quick. It would be nice to see different types of salad in your fridge and some more ready made sandwich options (not just wraps).

I did eat the free style breakfast from the cafeteria and have to admit it was tasty, however, I found it frustrating that the next time I went to order it the price had been raised and I’m fairly positive the breakfast had been changed to only feature one piece of toast instead of two. Why raise the price???

]]> By: AP http://savourwinnipeg.com/2009/09/08/diversity-on-the-menu-at-university-of-winnipeg/comment-page-1/#comment-58 AP Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:35:35 +0000 http://savourwinnipeg.wordpress.com/?p=825#comment-58 There you have it folks. The gloves question solved. Thanks Chef Ben Kramer for clearing that up. There you have it folks. The gloves question solved. Thanks Chef Ben Kramer for clearing that up.

]]> By: Chef Ben Kramer http://savourwinnipeg.com/2009/09/08/diversity-on-the-menu-at-university-of-winnipeg/comment-page-1/#comment-57 Chef Ben Kramer Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:41:27 +0000 http://savourwinnipeg.wordpress.com/?p=825#comment-57 Since all of our cooks strictly handle food and not cash, we do not require gloves. Gloves are generally used in food service when cooks also handle cash (ie. subway). We DO require frequent hand washing, which is far safer than gloves. Gloves tend to offer a false sense of security as they can get "contaminated" as quickly as a pair of hands. Very few (if any) restaurants require their cooks to wear gloves unless they are also working a till. The only difference with us (and why the gloves seem to be a concern with some) is we are completely visible to the public. We have a large number of staff who have completed the food handlers program, and hope that all of our staff will have taken it by the end of the year. Food safety is extremely important to us. Thanks for your comments and feedback. Since all of our cooks strictly handle food and not cash, we do not require gloves. Gloves are generally used in food service when cooks also handle cash (ie. subway). We DO require frequent hand washing, which is far safer than gloves. Gloves tend to offer a false sense of security as they can get “contaminated” as quickly as a pair of hands.
Very few (if any) restaurants require their cooks to wear gloves unless they are also working a till. The only difference with us (and why the gloves seem to be a concern with some) is we are completely visible to the public.
We have a large number of staff who have completed the food handlers program, and hope that all of our staff will have taken it by the end of the year.
Food safety is extremely important to us.
Thanks for your comments and feedback.

]]> By: AP http://savourwinnipeg.com/2009/09/08/diversity-on-the-menu-at-university-of-winnipeg/comment-page-1/#comment-56 AP Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:01:43 +0000 http://savourwinnipeg.wordpress.com/?p=825#comment-56 Hmmm. I know the staff are all given a Certified Food Handlers certificate as part of the training. Perhaps there's something to do with the set-up that doesn't require gloves. Hmmm. I know the staff are all given a Certified Food Handlers certificate as part of the training. Perhaps there’s something to do with the set-up that doesn’t require gloves.

]]> By: BABS http://savourwinnipeg.com/2009/09/08/diversity-on-the-menu-at-university-of-winnipeg/comment-page-1/#comment-55 BABS Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:52:37 +0000 http://savourwinnipeg.wordpress.com/?p=825#comment-55 I had the pleasure of tasting their new fare a couple of weeks ago. It is a stark improvement over the past servings. One thing that did carry over and that continues to irk me, though, is that the servers neglect to wear gloves. Watching them put together a wrap in their bare hands is a bit offsetting. I had the pleasure of tasting their new fare a couple of weeks ago. It is a stark improvement over the past servings. One thing that did carry over and that continues to irk me, though, is that the servers neglect to wear gloves. Watching them put together a wrap in their bare hands is a bit offsetting.

]]>