W&L Marketplace Celebrates National Food Service Workers Day Approximately 300 Dining Services employees plan, make and serve meals at one of the seven dining facilities on campus.

By Kelsey Goodwin
September 24, 2024

 

National Food Service Workers Day is celebrated on Sept. 25 each year to recognize the hard work of those in the food service industry. This year, several members of W&L’s dining services staff will be recognized through a special meal in The Marketplace (the main dining facility on campus) utilizing recipes that come from the homes and family recipe books of Dining Services staff.

Options will be as creative and diverse as W&L’s dining staff. Sydean Simpson is contributing a curry chickpea stew recipe inspired by her family’s Jamaican heritage. Chris Vess — who has 26 years of W&L experience — submitted a vegetarian dish that was his grandparents’ favorite. Staff member photos and a brief quote about the recipe will accompany the signage for the seven recipes chosen for the employee showcase dinner, which will run from 5 to 8 p.m.

Mike O’Byrne, Marketplace executive chef, said his team concocted the idea as they planned the fall special events calendar for the Marketplace in early summer. He said it was essential to find a way to recognize the talents and contributions of the W&L staff who make the Marketplace run throughout the academic year. Participating staff members were keen to share some of their favorite dishes and the warm associations they have with the recipes with W&L students.

“Our staff work very hard every day, especially at events like this. We start preparing for these kinds of events months in advance,” said O’Byrne.

Connie Matthews’ outdoor kitchen setup at a campsite she shares with two other families in Rockbridge County includes a fire ring, a four-burner black stove, two smokers, two gas grills, four standing burners and a long prep table with a French fry maker mounted at the end. Matthews said the pesto caprese chicken recipe she contributed to the Sept. 25 event is one that her family loves and frequently feeds a crowd on their weekend camping adventures.

“It’s actually a very easy weeknight meal to make, too, and even the kids in our family enjoy it,” Matthews said, adding that she is looking forward to sharing it with the W&L community.

When she is not cooking for her family in the great outdoors, Matthews arrives on campus before most students are awake to begin her role in managing the receiving of inventory for the W&L Marketplace. Using her camper organization skills, she optimizes the Marketplace’s pantry, coolers and freezers with the ingredients for campus meals each week. Matthews enjoys the creativity of new offerings such as the global kitchen station, which features dishes from around the world. As a semi-professional baker in her spare time (she creates themed cakes for local weddings and birthday parties), she also enjoys jumping in to help the university’s baking staff whenever needed.

Recent Marketplace innovations have provided the team with better equipment and an expanded freezer. However, Matthews and her coworkers still rely on creativity and careful planning to execute each week’s plan; many arrive between 3 and 4 a.m. to prepare for the day’s meals. O’Byrne noted the diverse background and range of expertise of W&L’s dining services staff, many of whom came from highly regarded regional restaurants and have years of experience as former chefs, sous chefs and restaurant owners. O’Byrne said that this is reflected not only in the quality of the final products being served but also in the pride and sense of ownership that the staff takes in providing an excellent experience for everyone who dines on campus.

“This is a very dedicated staff who puts a lot of hard work into everything they do,” O’Byrne said.  “Seeing the smiles on students’ faces when they come in and see what we’re offering for the day is hugely rewarding to our staff.”

Explore the menu for W&L’s National Food Service Workers Day dinner and follow the W&L Dining Services Instagram account for updates on upcoming special events.