PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 28, No. 3, Aug. 7, 2008

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New dining experience awaits students at PAR

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
217-244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu

Click photo to enlarge Photo by L. Brian Stauffer Hot stuff  Chef Jet Tila demonstrates a technique during a training session on hot food production as Dining Services employees (left to right) Kimberly Dunlap, Jason Jenkins and Rosalind Lane look on.

A new dining experience awaits students who will be eating at Pennsylvania Avenue Residence Halls this coming school year. The kitchens and dining rooms have undergone some physical and operational transformations.

The dining rooms and kitchen were closed during the 2007-2008 school year while undergoing a $12 million renovation that added more windows and natural light, created more open space, expanded the serving areas and the dining lobby as well as PAR’s main entrance. 

What diners may find most appetizing, though, is PAR’s new menu that features an array of ethnic cuisine that can be custom-ordered. Chefs will prepare food at several stations in the dining room, each with its own distinct flavor-profile.

La Avenida Parilla, (the Avenue Grill), will feature burritos, quesadillas and other Latin favorites. The Sky Garden station will offer customized stir-fries, crab Rangoon and other Asian fare. The selection of Italian specialties at the Abbondante (“Abundance”) station will include made-to-order brick-oven-baked pizzas and fresh pasta. Another station, Arugulas, will offer vegetarian and vegan selections, salads and homemade soups, along with raw vegetables, cooked meats and hot broth that diners can use to create their own soups. An extension of Arugula’s called Provolone’s will offer fresh deli ingredients and Panini grills for diners to make and grill their own sandwiches.

Gourmet coffee drinks and exotic teas will be available at a station called Mela (“May-la”) that will provide cold coffee drinks, chai tea and bubble teas. Cereals, breads, make-your-own waffles, juices, fruits and other continental breakfast items will be available all day. There also will be a dessert bar.

The array of ethnic and vegetarian selections and the ability to customize dishes reflect the preferences expressed by students during open forums and in customer satisfaction surveys that Dining Services conducted. Dining Services serves more than 8,900 resident students each year.

Click photo to enlarge Photo by L. Brian Stauffer In training  Chef Jet Tila (pictured), a star on Food Network who specializes in Asian cuisine, and Dave Martin, a past contender on the “Top Chef” program, trained employees on various culinary techniques at Pennsylvania Avenue Residence Halls July 15-18.

“We’re answering our customers’ requests by providing this cuisine,” said Dawn Aubrey, senior assistant director of University Housing Dining Services. “Today’s students are looking for ethnic cuisines, vegetarian fare and healthier food; for nutritional information; for more choices; and for customization. Not only will they get these wonderful ethnic-style foods at PAR, but they’ll be able to have them made-to-order to suit their own tastes and preferences. Everything is either cooked in small batches or it’s cooked to order.”

The ability to customize their food will benefit diners on prescribed diets in particular, who might be reluctant to ask chefs for specially prepared items in traditional serving arrangements, Aubrey said. “Oftentimes, those students don’t really want to stand out, and this is a nice way for them to be able to blend in.”

For the convenience of students interested in nutritional information, last year Dining Services began offering EatSmart, an online tool that lists the nutritional data for the foods offered at every eatery Dining Services operates on campus.

To learn how to prepare the new menu selections and rehearse the new operating procedures, food service staff members at PAR got a unique training opportunity: Dining Services brought celebrity chefs Dave Martin and Jet Tila to campus to work with them for several days in July. Martin, who specializes in South American and Spanish cuisine, was a contender on the first season of the TV show “Top Chef.” Tila, a nationally renowned chef who specializes in Asian cuisine, has appeared on numerous TV shows and entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 2005 when he prepared a record-breaking 1,805-pound stir-fry.

During the training, staff set up, operated and sampled food from every station, including the dessert bar, which offered build-your-own banana splits.

The physical and operational transformations at PAR will serve as a model for similar changes Dining Services has planned for its other facilities on campus, including the dining hall at the Ikenberry Commons residence hall complex under construction near Gregory Drive and First Street. The dining hall will replace the Gregory Drive and Peabody Drive dining facilities, will seat 1,200 people and will offer an all-you-care-to-eat format with eight food stations and a coffee shop.  The new dining hall is scheduled to open for the fall semester 2010.

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