To improve Dining, U. taps Lacey as food czar

The hiring is one part of the University's master plan to renovate dining halls and increase food service options. and Edward Sherwin While the University did not take the drastic step of outsourcing its Dining Services operation last spring following a lengthy review, big changes are in store for how and where students eat on campus. Foremost among these changes was the University's decision to consolidate the operations of dining, catering and food retail operations under a single "food services czar" who will oversee the University's four dining halls, vending operations, Chats and Perelman Quadrangle retail establishments and restaurants built around campus. The University hired Peg Lacey, a former dining services administrator at Columbia and Cornell universities, as managing director of campus dining this summer to serve as the University's chief dining official. Most recently, Lacey was a regional vice president for Aramark Corp., a Philadelphia-based national food-service management company to which the University considered outsourcing Dining operations last year. Lacey was not a member of the Aramark team that visited Penn last fall. Meanwhile, the University has contracted with Menlo Park, Calif.-based Bon Appetit Management Co. to run its future retail operations in the Perelman Quadrangle, take over the University's catering operations and advise the University on changes in Dining's service and administration. Associate Vice President for Campus Services Larry Moneta said that Lacey -- hired through an advertisement placed in February by the Cornyn Fasano consulting group at the University's request -- will be in charge of Penn's "master plan" for improving and expanding dining options. Cornyn Fasano studied the University's dining services for nearly a year before releasing a report which has served as the basis for the changes to Dining. Administrators said they have already begun implementing some of the proposed changes to residential food-service operations. "More food items that we're serving today are from scratch," Lacey said, adding that changes will periodically be made based on student feedback. There will also be a greater emphasis on the attractive presentation of food and made-to-order serving, said Dining Services Marketing Director Gary Brodbeck, who was previously in charge of Chats. But Lacey said the increased service costs will not drive up the cost of meal plans, because food costs for fresh ingredients are often lower than for prepared products. Adam Sherr, Dining Services meal contracts coordinator, said that so far, student reaction to the quality of the food has been positive, based on the e-mails and other correspondence he has received. Sherr added that having eaten Penn dining food for 12 years, he is living proof of the quality of Penn's food. "I'm the best walking billboard? because if the food weren't good, I wouldn't be so fat," he joked. Sherr also said the changes in food service have slowed down employees and increased lines at Dining Halls. But he expressed confidence that those lines would become shorter as staffers adjust to the new cooking practices and students ease into their routine. "In the beginning of the school year, everyone is eating at the same time," he said. "It's not until people realize when the peak times of dining are? that the lines smooth out." Lacey added that larger changes are in store in the future. All four University dining halls are set to undergo renovations within the next five years, which will cost between $10 million and $15 million, Interim Vice President for Business Services Marie Witt said in March. The first of the halls -- Hill House dining -- will close for renovations next summer, while Stouffer, which has the largest capacity, will be renovated last, Lacey said. While design details of the dining hall renovations have not been set, Sherr explained that a major priority will be the creation of added seating in the other three dining halls to prepare for Stouffer's renovations. He said that one possibility is to build an atrium connecting the Class of 1920 Commons to Harnwell House -- or High Rise East -- to increase seating capacity. However, Moneta disputed Lacey's comments, explaining that definite plans or timetables for renovations of the dining commons are not yet in place, noting that the University is "in the very early stages" of planning any renovations. Officials are also working on plans to bring retail food service to the Perelman Quadrangle, the $69 million construction project linking Houston, Williams, College and Logan halls and Irvine Auditorium scheduled to be completed at the end of next year. Bon Appetit will manage all of the Perelman Quad's food service operations, which will include basement and ground-level eateries in Houston Hall, a soup-and-sandwich shop in Williams and a cafe in Irvine. Moneta said that plans for the projects have advanced to the point where architects are discussing kitchen designs. Lacey added that changes in the structure and service of the dining halls would correspond in large part with changes in the college houses. Already, there are designated areas in the dining halls for each college house to eat together if they so choose, a feature designed to encourage interaction among members of each college house. Moneta said that it was "too soon to tell" if Dining Services' administrative restructuring and changes in food service would ultimately help the bottom line. "We've only been open two weeks under the new model," he said.