Hospitality Jobs on University Campuses Take a New Direction

On a rainy afternoon in Brussels, me and four friends discovered several blocks of small charming restaurants situated awning by awning, one after the next. Diners in a corner bistro chatted amiably with the patrons of the adjacent seafood house. Only the differing furniture styles made it clear where one eatery stopped and the next began. In front of each restaurant stood a wheeled ice cart holding a display of fresh fruits, meats, fish, and vegetables.

On a rainy afternoon in Brussels, me and four friends discovered several blocks of small charming restaurants situated awning by awning, one after the next. Diners in a corner bistro chatted amiably with the patrons of the adjacent seafood house. Only the differing furniture styles made it clear where one eatery stopped and the next began. In front of each restaurant stood a wheeled ice cart holding a display of fresh fruits, meats, fish, and vegetables. This was my introduction to market-style dining, but I’d have bet anyone’s career in hospitality that this concept couldn’t be adapted for large-scale commercial dining. And I’d have been wrong.

On Campus, Hospitality Jobs Get a New Description

Today, the hospitality management folks are training all of us to think differently about campus dining. Where once the brand name mall-style food court reigned supreme, now a few experiments in hospitality cuisine are giving degree-seekers a whole new dining experience. Called “eatertainment” by some, on-campus market-style dining is a growing trend.

Northeastern University’s Market-Style Dining Hall

Marketplace dining offers students the chance to select their own food and have it cooked before their eyes while they wait. At Boston’s Northeastern University’s Stetson East Marketplace, students select their fare from restaurant-like menus and get their food at seven marketplace serving kiosks, each with a distinctive theme. Who knew a hospitality career in institutional food could be so trendy—or so successful? Stetson East’s marketplace serves more than 4,000 meals a day—a 10% increase over the food court it replaced. Even upscale students and off-campus residents are buying marketplace meal plans.

Hospitality Rules Take a New and Successful Career Path

Nothing in the institutional hospitality training repertoire teaches staff about marketplace dining. Michael Grats, director of hospitality services for the Parkside Restaurant at Los Angeles’ USC, says that chefs at first found it awkward to come out of the kitchen and cook interactively. Once the staff “got” the marketplace concept, however, “morale shot up” because their hospitality jobs included “helping students learn about high-quality food.”

Sources:

• “For students, marketplace the place to be,” by Paul King. Nation’s Restaurant News 39.12 (Mar 21, 2005).
• “Northeastern U’s new dining hall winds NACAS achievement award.” Nation’s Restaurant News 33.48 (Nov 29, 1999).
• “Quite a ‘Hangar’!” Food Management 40.6 (Jun 2005).

Posted on June 14, 2006 at 11:55 AM

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