Press

  1. 50 Great Ideas to Steal

    May 23, 2018

    Theft-worthy knowledge can come from anywhere. And noncommercial foodservice directors across all segments are brimming with applicable, actionable ideas. From edible gardens to temporary tattoos, retention plans to creative training, the 50 great ideas that follow represent the best of the best ideas to steal.

    Our Culinary and Nutrition Support Specialist Lindsay Haas is featured in this list at #10.

  2. University of Michigan students go off the grid with straw-bale building

    May 14, 2018

    The building, located next to the UM Campus Farm at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, will provide an informal meeting space for students and faculty in what is UM’s first off-the-grid building in Ann Arbor.

    Constructing the building near the UM Campus Farm allows for pairing the building with events hosted by MDining to highlight its farm-to-table efforts with the food coming from the adjacent fields, Campus Farm Manager Jeremy Moghtader said.

  3. The 2018 College Power Players

    May 4, 2018

    The extent of a college dining program can be measured in a number of ways. Four years ago, when we published our initial College Power Players listing, we ranked the programs by the number of students living on campus, as resident populations have a significant effect on the scope of a campus dining program because those students are technically around as potential customers 24/7.

    This time, we decided on a different metric—the number of meal plans sold—as meal plan participation is the traditional bedrock of college dining programs. Comparison with the previous listing shows that many of the same schools are on both, which is as good a way to identify the major players in college dining as any.

  4. MDining on ice

    April 24, 2018

    MDining’s John Merucci, chef de cuisine at South Quad, and Martin Folk, general Manager for Residential Dining, recently braved northern Canadian temperatures to compete in an ice carving competition at the Long John Jamboree 2018 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. MDining received a bronze medal for the design showing the progression of the dining industry using the style of Diego Riviera’s Detroit Institute of Arts mural. The final design was developed and sketched out by William Kliber, assistant manager of MDining Retail.

  5. Learn how to cope with food allergies at college

    April 22, 2018

    Worried about food allergies at college? University of Michigan is partnering with the nonprofit Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) group to host a panel on how to cope.

  6. Finding success through small-scale catering

    April 19, 2018

    Once it found its brand identity, the University of Michigan’s Cafe to Go catering program began reaping the rewards. Described by Director of Retail Operations Patrick Schmid as “smaller scale catering,” Cafe to Go allows members of the Ann Arbor, Mich., university to order meals for small, informal meetings. Consumers place their order online or Read more

  7. These Michigan ice carvers rank among the top in the world

    April 18, 2018

    Michigan ice carvers worked a different kind of diamond in the rough this month to rank internationally in the 2018 De Beers Inspired Ice International Ice Carving Competition.

  8. Plant-based food comes out to play

    For a recent pop-up plant-based dinner on the most veggie-friendly dining venue, East Quad, chefs Allan Sheldon and David Adler succeeded in turning those carrots into osso bucco and plated it beautifully (pictured at top) with fried fingerling potato crisps, pureed celery root and gremolata, the pesto-like sauce that’s a plant-based dish’s best friend, instantly imparting a zing and zip like no other to lots of vegetables.

  9. MDining Staff Brave Northwest Territories Cold to Compete in Ice Carving competition

    April 17, 2018

    MDining’s John Merucci, Chef de Cuisine at South Quad, and Martin Folk, General Manager for Residential Dining, recently braved frigid Northern Canadian temperatures to compete in the ice carving competition at the Long John Jamboree 2018 in Yellowknife Bay, located in the Northwest Territories. The March 23-25 event took place on Great Slave Lake located about 250 miles south of the Arctic Circle and 900 miles from Edmonton, an 18-hour drive from the closest major city.

  10. The Future of Food: MDining meets Menus of Change guidelines

    Providing healthy options for diners while making healthy, sustainable operational decisions isn’t an easy challenge to meet. It’s a balance of customer needs and appetites with good industry practices. Comparing MDining’s protocols to the suggested “Principles of Healthy, Sustainable Menus” outlined in the “Menus of Change Annual Report”, illustrates how close MDining leadership have come to reaching that balance.