(Nathan Ferraro/Fourth Estate)

Has Quality of Food and Service Improved Under Chartwells?

BY NATHAN FERRARO, COPY EDITOR

After Mason Dining’s announcement in June that the former dining service contractor Sodexo would be replaced by Chartwells Higher Ed starting this fall semester, I experienced a number of conflicting emotions: excitement, curiosity, confusion, disappointment and hope.

I have long been an advocate of the dining halls when others are not. Operating on the assumption that no mass food production operation can ever produce high-quality, healthy and delicious food on a scalable level, I manage my expectations prior to going to any dining hall, buffet or fast-food establishment. 

I don’t expect a gourmet food experience — or even a good food experience — when going to a dining hall. I expect unseasoned, poorly cooked food (and hope to not leave with an upset stomach). 

Last year, with Sodexo in charge, I found my experiences at Southside to alternate between moderately satisfying and downright depressing. Conditions have not improved this year. 

Employees at Southside now hand serve every student at the main station, ensuring that you get the least amount of protein possible and waste a considerable amount of time waiting in line during busy hours (which are roughly 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every weekday). 

They stop serving breakfast around 10 to 10:30 a.m. every day, meaning that my routine of getting breakfast at Southside before walking to my 10:30 a.m. class is over. 

A personal favorite of mine was Southside’s macaroni and cheese (typically served alongside fried chicken and collard greens). That dish’s recipe is long gone — of the three times I have eaten macaroni and cheese at Southside this year, only once did it resemble its former glory. Dry noodles with clumps of unmixed “cheese” is now the norm. 

A positive note is the new ability to order omelets via a QR code. I did so for the first time at 10:01 a.m. on Sept. 25 and received my omelet by 10:13 a.m. It is worth mentioning that the function to receive a text when your omelet is finished does not work correctly — by the time I received a text (10:26 a.m.), I had already finished eating. 

One change that should not be overlooked is that each dining hall has replaced every plate in the facility. The cost of a meal plan is up $115 from last year (based on the price I paid for an Independence meal plan last fall and this fall, minus dining dollars). Food quality remains the same; yet, we have all-new fake marble plastic plates (when there was nothing wrong with the old ones in the first place). 

Contrary to the narrative that Chartwells is “exploring new culinary concepts” and “elevating food variety and quality” is the reality that food quality at dining halls has not changed. If Mason Dining thinks hosting one event a month or offering blueberries at Southside for the first week of the semester makes up for the abysmal quality of food, lackluster service and basic experience at dining halls, then they are going to have to try harder.