Going Back to College

College students are a new breed of consumer: curious, well-fed, wired and ready to voice their demands.

By Patricia B. Dailey, Editor-in-Chief -- Restaurants & Institutions, 3/1/2007

For anyone who has pursued it as an academic path, the merest mention of college can unleash a feast of memories. Some are utterly pleasant and tinged with nostalgia’s cheerful glow, while others may be best left—untouched and undisturbed—in the ever-darkening recesses of days passed.

College food tends to fall in with the latter, at least for graduates of a certain age. Meal plans, once iron-clad regulations for those living in residence halls, were all-you-can-eat entry passes to mundane meals served unceremoniously and joylessly. Meat tended to be dark, grainy and caked with gravy; vegetables were overly soft and fresh fruit notably scarce.

The times they are a’ changing.

"I was honestly surprised by this ‘eggplant Parmesan’ dish—I didn’t know that anyone, even Bowdoin, could make eggplant so delicious. It was even better than the chicken Parmesan that they often serve here, which just goes to show how accommodating the college’s food is of vegetarians." —The Bowdoin Gourmet

That the old-school model has changed—dramatically and deliciously—may have escaped notice of anyone who hasn’t visited a campus lately. Tucked within these hallowed halls and institutions of higher learning is some of the most innovative, interesting and trend-forward food—not just on the noncommercial side of the industry but across all foodservice segments.

"I saw this beautiful salad today and I had to try it. It tasted as good as it looks; I especially liked the substantial texture of the wheat berries, the crisp peas and the accents provided by the green onions and red peppers." —The Bowdoin Gourmet

Operationally, college foodservice directors demonstrate enviable and uncanny abilities from which those in other industry segments could learn. They are nothing short of creative and intensely customer-focused. And what these pros already know about serving a narrow but immensely important demographic should be closely monitored by anyone who hopes to satisfactorily serve these consumers when they leave college.

"It’s the middle of winter up here in Maine, but you’d never guess it by looking inside Moulton dining hall. The hall continues to offer an excellent array of fresh fruit, even when these foods are surely more difficult and expensive to procure. One fruit that is conspicuously absent from Moulton is oranges. Of course, this is understandable given the recent disastrous frost in the West and associated skyrocketing of citrus prices." —The Bowdoin Gourmet

The Bowdoin Gourmet: College Food at Its Best blog (www .bowdoingourmet .com) perfectly captures both the quality of college foodservice offerings and the passionate interest many students have in food and self-expression. They are a breed of consumer unlike any that has come before. They’re curious, well-fed, wired and ready to take their demands for quality dining experiences to a larger marketplace. To gain a deeper understanding of them, the blog should be required reading, a sort of CliffsNotes version of what lies ahead for all of foodservice.