A New Kitchen For HUDS Exec

When iconic Annenberg card-swiper Domna Antoniou took an early retirement package in the midst of a budgetary crackdown last spring there was an outpouring of appreciation for the 22-year Harvard University Dining Services veteran. But when budget cuts and a glimpse of greener kitchens caused former Executive Chef of Residential Dining, Larry R. Kessel, to leave Harvard in August, his departure passed nearly unnoticed by students.

After six and a half years at Harvard, Kessel, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a former New York and Boston restaurateur, left HUDS and joined private food provider AVI Food Systems as Executive Chef and Operations Director for Wellesley College. Kessel, who played an integral role in crafting residential menus and working on the Food Literacy Program, said a former HUDS employee had been recruiting him to work at AVI for the past three years.

“It was the right opportunity at the right time,” Kessel said. “This is a new property so there was that challenge and that opportunity, and I like opening up new projects. Also there was a larger potential for growth.”

Kessel also noted that his position at Wellesley would be “more financially rewarding.”

In January, in an effort to consolidate its budget, HUDS eliminated the Executive Chef of Residential Dining position, and shifted Kessel to Executive Chef of the Cook and Chill Division, which handles the preparation and distribution of soups and sauces for the House dining halls.

“Larry’s title [of Executive Chef] didn’t change,” said HUDS Director for Culinary Operations Martin T. Breslin. “He was just refocused.”

In his new position, Kessel’s administrative oversight was narrowed—from control of whole menus to a focus on condiments and appetizers. Breslin said that he took over Kessel’s administrative tasks.

But HUDS Director for Marketing and Communications Crista Martin said that Kessel’s position at HUDS had been in no way downgraded, but that he left to pursue a career opportunity.

At Wellesley, Kessel will be in charge of all culinary operations including running Wellesley’s five uniquely-themed dining halls, according to Dawn Perry, AVI Food Systems’ vice president for marketing.

“He is the absolute ending point for all things culinary on campus and has the full authority to write local menus and change menus as needed based on students’ needs,” Perry said. “We are very excited to have him on our team.”

“One of the great things for me that was a deal-closer was that at Harvard all the dining halls serve the same food,” Kessel said. “But [at Wellesley] I have five locations that all get different menus and different cuisines.”

Because Wellesley contracts a private company to run their food services, the university saves on overhead costs such as health and benefits packages for chefs and culinary administrators. Perry said that she believes this gives the school greater budgetary flexibility.

But Martin says that she believes HUDS’ University affiliation gives it a unique place within the College.

“We are pleased to be an integral part of the House system, where community happens every day,” she said. “What happens at Harvard doesn’t happen anywhere else and that comes with challenges as well as opportunities.”

Though Kessel admitted that HUDS had been feeling the effects of budget cuts for quite some time, he said that he believes HUDS still runs one of the College’s benchmark programs.

“This is not the first time in history they’ve had to make cuts in the dining halls,” he said. “But everything is cyclical, that’s just where the university is right now.”

—Staff writer Jillian K. Kushner at kushner@fas.harvard.edu.