HDS Cuts 25 Items From Menu

Goodbye, turkey parmesan. Hello, chicken parmesan.

In an effort to be more responsive to student preferences, Harvard Dining Services (HDS) has removed 25 items from its menu and will serve several popular entrees more often.

Leonard D. Condenzio, acting director of HDS, said the revised menu is the result of an increase in student complaints during the past semester.

"The menu committee missed the mark here and there," Condenzio said. "There seemed to be more feedback on the menu this year than there has been in the past."

Although students approved of the dining hall's service and ambience, they objected to the menu selection and overall food quality, according to Condenzio.

Among the items dropped from the menu are lamb curry, Asian bluefish, ginger peach catfish, turkey parmesan and Moroccan stuffed peppers--all of which received low ratings on HDS's electronic surveys.

Items that will be served more frequently include eggplant and chicken parmesan, breaded scallops, turkey cutlets and ravioli.

More generally, students responding to the surveys expressed concern about the quality of the vegetarian options.

"I have a vegetarian roommate," said Timothy A. Roberts '98-'00 of Kirkland House. "They could do better; a lot of vegetarians just end up eating the pasta and that's not a good source of protein."

Condenzio said serving higher-quality vegetarian dishes is one of HDS's top priorities.

HDS will run focus groups as part of its strategy to improve the quality of vegetarian offerings.

"We want to improve the vegetarian recipes because some of them still weren't up to par in terms of flavor," Condenzio said.

Another complaint was that dining halls serve too much ethnic food without striving for authenticity, especially with the Asian cuisine.

"They try to do what looks like diversification, but it's really just changing the names," Roberts said.

Condenzio acknowledged that HDS sometimes fails to deliver what students want when it serves ethnic food.

"Sometimes we try a little too hard to get creative with ethnic food," Condenzio said. "Students want it plain, simple and good...every day."

Not all students find Harvard's food inadequate, however.

"The food here is pretty good, to be quite honest," said Christian S. Peccei '99 of Cabot House. "I'm from England and the food in universities there is pretty awful."

The menu committee, composed of the executive chef, dining managers and production managers, usually meets during the summer to discuss the menu and keep it contemporary.

The menu committee will meet next in the middle of the spring semester.

Students are also invited to attend monthly meetings of the Harvard University Dining Advisory Committee, and Executive Chef Michael Miller will be in a dining hall to talk to students once a week

HDS will run focus groups as part of its strategy to improve the quality of vegetarian offerings.

"We want to improve the vegetarian recipes because some of them still weren't up to par in terms of flavor," Condenzio said.

Another complaint was that dining halls serve too much ethnic food without striving for authenticity, especially with the Asian cuisine.

"They try to do what looks like diversification, but it's really just changing the names," Roberts said.

Condenzio acknowledged that HDS sometimes fails to deliver what students want when it serves ethnic food.

"Sometimes we try a little too hard to get creative with ethnic food," Condenzio said. "Students want it plain, simple and good...every day."

Not all students find Harvard's food inadequate, however.

"The food here is pretty good, to be quite honest," said Christian S. Peccei '99 of Cabot House. "I'm from England and the food in universities there is pretty awful."

The menu committee, composed of the executive chef, dining managers and production managers, usually meets during the summer to discuss the menu and keep it contemporary.

The menu committee will meet next in the middle of the spring semester.

Students are also invited to attend monthly meetings of the Harvard University Dining Advisory Committee, and Executive Chef Michael Miller will be in a dining hall to talk to students once a week