By: Alena Miklosovic | Michigan Dining Intern
From early-morning coffee setups to elegant wedding receptions, Michigan Catering exists to serve the University of Michigan community. As a division of Michigan Dining, the catering team provides food services across campus for a wide range of clients, including student organizations, university departments, and even external events like corporate galas and baby showers.
This is a big undertaking, requiring a dedicated leadership team and meticulous planning. Director Devon Janks and Culinary Assistant Director John Miller work hard to make sure that each event runs smoothly, overseeing several units that make up the catering team. Each has a catering captain, assistant manager, manager, senior executive chef, multiple cooks and sous chefs, and several student employees. They work together to prepare and present food, service guests, arrange linens and florals, and more.
The University of Michigan is fortunate to have an in-house catering service, offering a level of flexibility and personal attention that larger catering conglomerates often can’t match. Because they are so committed to serving their community, Michigan Catering is willing to find a way to say “yes.” They regularly collaborate with clients who have very specific visions for their events, such as couples planning their wedding reception or soon-to-be parents organizing a baby shower. They have adapted family recipes and altered menus to fit a client’s exact preferences, something that other companies might not have the capacity to do. And, in their efforts to serve as diverse a clientele as possible, the catering team makes sure to include vegan, vegetarian, kosher, halal, and top-nine-allergen-free choices on their menus.
If the U-M community had to rely on outside catering companies, the experience likely wouldn’t offer the same level of satisfaction or connection to campus needs.
“We wouldn’t see the complexity of the menus that we’re providing, I don’t think that you would see the customization that we’re providing, and I certainly don’t think that you would see the push for sustainable, local … menus that are healthy,” Janks said.
And, of course, Michigan Catering is dedicated to the students of the University. They offer student menus at a reduced rate from their regular menus, allowing the catering team to play an integral role in events like football tailgates, Heritage Month ceremonies, award ceremonies, and scholarship presentations. Furthermore, part of the business’s revenue is funneled straight back into student programs. This support allows campus groups to put on even more events that foster friendships, celebrate student achievements, and advance careers. In discussing why the students of the University are her first priority, Janks put it simply.
“(We have a) commitment to our students,” Janks said. “They’re the reason we’re all here.”
Recently, the catering team has been involved in a number of large undertakings. Welcome Week, or the week that students arrive on campus in anticipation of the new school year, is one of catering’s biggest weeks of the year. They are involved with dozens of events, and, as Miller said, it is “organized chaos.” To make sure their team is ready, Janks and Miller meet with chefs beforehand, order doughnuts for their team members, give lots of pep talks, and check in with individuals throughout the week. Luckily, catering runs throughout the summer as well as the school year, so they are able to use the week before Welcome Week to rest and recharge rather than having to train team members and frantically prepare.
Welcome Week is particularly exciting for Janks, who remembers it as being pivotal to her own student experience at the University. She said that as an out-of-state student, dining events helped her gain her footing and feel more comfortable in her new home.
“Fourteen hours away from my home, that dining experience — whether it was catering or it was in the dining hall — created relationships with … people and also gave us a place to kind of meet and wind down.”
This Welcome Week, amid the organized chaos, Michigan Catering played a key role in a “Meet the President” event, where students and other U-M community members had the chance to meet Interim University President Domenico Grasso. The catering team scooped more than 400 scoops of ice cream for students and team members as part of the celebration marking the arrival of a new president. Miller stressed the importance of events like this one, saying that he got to talk with people from all different parts of campus who could potentially be future clients.
“I want them to know us, I want them to say ‘Wow, that’s the chef from catering, they’re friendly,’” Miller said. “They might come to us because of that interaction somewhere down the road.”
Looking toward the future, Michigan Catering is always looking for ways to make more people feel at home at the University of Michigan. They are excited to expand their menu options to be even more inclusive and to continue to elevate events all over campus. At the heart of their efforts is a dedication to bringing people together through food and hospitality. Janks put it best: “We feed people. That’s what we do.”
