Hopkins named second best for college cuisine

Food blog “The Daily Meal” named Hopkins the second best college for food in the United States for 2014.

The list, which was published on Aug. 13, named the top 75 schools in the category, chosen from a pool of 2,000 four-year colleges. In last year’s rankings, Hopkins ranked 42nd of 60 schools listed.

The article cites the University’s emphasis on sustainability — specifically the use of compostable paper to-go containers, cage-free eggs, hormone-free milk and locally-grown produce — as a major factor for the high ranking.

“Everything in the dining halls [is] made in small batches, from scratch, which not only gives students the freshest options available, but also reduces waste,” the article states.

The Daily Meal stated that the rankings were based on five categories: nutrition and sustainability, accessibility and service, education and events, surrounding area, and the “x factor.” Hopkins received high marks in all five areas, and the article cited Hopkins Dining’s special programs that went above and beyond the expectations for college dining.

“Johns Hopkins’ dining services boast a hotel-quality brunch, food and wine pairings for seniors, themed monotony breakers each month, and cooking classes in on-campus residences that focus on healthy eating,” the article states. “There are also monthly faculty and staff dinners with students to promote community building as well as weekly chef demonstrations, tastings and samplings in retail locations.”

This praise comes only a year after the school switched its dining services management to Bon Appétit, updating the cuisine served at each campus eatery and renaming certain dining locations. Ty Paup, general manager of Bon Appétit at Hopkins, shared the major changes his company implemented.

“We worked with our Johns Hopkins contacts to overhaul the entire food program, from the flow of customers at Levering Café to the different stations at all of them to the kind of menus we would offer,” Paup wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “We rolled out internationally focused concepts with authentic global flavors, such as One Bowl.”

Still, Paup explained, certain aspects of the former dining program have remained constant.

“We retained a number of longtime employees in addition to bringing in an entirely new culinary team and group of managers,” he said.

Many students, including senior Jenna Santoro, are pleased by Bon Appetit’s changes, including changes to the products sold at Charles Street Market.

“I love all the healthy options; it feels like having an organic grocery store on campus,” Santoro said.

In terms of the response to Bon Appétit’s changes, Paup felt they have been positive because Hopkins has been involved directly with plans for the future.

“I think the response has been very positive, and part of that is because the Hopkins community as a whole has driven most of the improvements to the dining program,” Paup wrote. “The Bon Appétit team meets frequently with various groups to gather feedback and work together to develop and improve the dining experience.”

On the contrary, other students, including senior P. Nash Jenkins, still think the University’s Dining Services has room for improvement.

“I think Hopkins has come a long way in terms of increasing the quality of the food during my time here, [but] I think its still incredibly lacking in terms of both options and convenience,” Jenkins said. “Hopkins could broaden its appeal if it brought in national franchises instead.”

Paup said that the school is looking into bringing more external franchises to campus. Following the opening of Insomnia Cookies in Charles Commons, the University plans to have more food retailers on campus in the future.

“President Daniels is working with various parties to increase the retail options for students in Charles Village,” Paup wrote. “Homewood Student Affairs helped identify Insomnia Cookies [offering fresh baked cookie delivery until 3 a.m. daily] as the vendor for the Charles Commons space.”

Junior Sophia-Pia Zombanakis said she wasn’t sure that the University’s food was worthy of a second place ranking.

“I think that [the dining] has improved greatly in the past couple years, but the second place ranking is a little shocking considering so many students still complain about the food here at Hopkins,” Zombanakis said.

Paup wrote that he thinks Hopkins was recognized for having excellent dining services in part because of its interaction with community members.

“We meet regularly to gather feedback and suggestions, and follow up to understand what is working and what isn’t working,” Paup wrote.

Paup also wrote that Bon Appétit plans to begin hiring students in dining facilities. Other future goals include healthier options and continued recognition for improvements.

“We’re working hard on fulfilling our promise to hit 35% real food as part of the Real Food Challenge,” Paup wrote. “And we’re hoping that with the support of students, we can get Hopkins on the Princeton Review’s Best Campuses for Food list for 2015!”