Collegiate dining operators are prepping for the incoming freshman class that will descend on their facilities for the first time in about a month.

Robin Hungerford, associate principal and planning director at Webb Foodservice Design, continues to track on-campus foodservice trends since switching gears from the university foodservice operator side to join Webb. Here, she reviews a few operational challenges facing collegiate foodservice and the related equipment and design implications.

Operational Challenge: Catering to the Next Generation

“Another trend right now is definitely figuring out how to have menus and food offerings that speak to what Gen Z and then Gen Alpha behind them are going to be expecting in the years to come,” Hungerford says. “They want global cuisine, and they don’t want to get bored; we need to keep the food fresh and hot and definitely Instagram-worthy.”

Equipment & Design Impact

The best design to accomplish the variety that younger consumers seek is, again, super flexible, but also simpler and not overly thematic, Hungerford says, so that a station could feature one type of cuisine this month and another cuisine next month or even be shifted on a weekly basis. “That means less niche equipment that might be used for one menu item and more multiuse equipment like combi ovens, rapid cook ovens, fryers, charbroilers and flattop grills with the occasional wok if other menu items can be prepared in it,” she says. “Still, I see many campuses pausing to question equipment like woks right now and really asking themselves how many menu items they use it for before deciding.” 

Operational Challenge: Recruiting and Retaining Quality Staff

“What we’re definitely hearing is recruiting quality staff — especially on the culinary side — is a struggle,” says Hungerford. “I think there’s less people going into this field, and a lot of people left it during COVID. You have the constant cycle of hiring and training going on, which is already the case in higher ed with student employees — it’s just more compounded now.”

As a result, Hungerford adds, “It’s causing some campuses to look inward and think about hiring more of a permanent training and development person and also to figure out how to make jobs in collegiate dining more attractive.” Of course, the other ramification of labor challenges is figuring out how to do more with less.

Equipment & Design Impact

“Everything needs to be a little bit more streamlined, a little simpler, and definitely flexible,” Hungerford says. “In large dining halls, it’s not about 14 stations anymore, it’s about having maybe five or six big ones with a lot of flexibility built into them to make sure they’re still hitting all the menu options.” There’s also a need to do a bit more batch cooking ahead of shifts to continue to offer some out-front cooking but in more of a finishing format, she adds. Blast chillers and larger-scale preparation and cooking equipment at the back can help accomplish that goal.

Operational Challenge: Bringing Hospitality Back

“Another trend we’re definitely seeing — and architects and I think foodservice consultants are all talking about this — is how do we support the fact that campuses are trying to bring back community and a sense of place and connection?” Hungerford says. “That kind of got lost for a few years, and students are hungry for it, but they’re also still a bit apprehensive and want to feel safe and not feel like an outcast when dining alone. So how do we approach that through front-of-the-house design and furniture selection? At the same time, there might be more flex retail areas for pre-order pickup and takeout food, but students still want to see staff, particularly in a dining hall, so we have to make sure that the technology we invest in is efficient but that still allows for guest interaction.”

Equipment & Design Impact

Seating configurations are a large part of the discussion when it comes to how to create communal yet private spaces. “You don’t want to make solo diners feel awkward if there are mostly large tables in a room and have to sit down by themselves at a table with a big group,” Hungerford says. “Campuses put out signs that say, ‘sit together,’ but [students] are just not going to do that if they come up to a table of strangers.” The right seating variety is critical for guest satisfaction, seating utilization, and seating efficiency.

Operational Challenge: Training on Electric Equipment

“Many campuses we go to now want all-electric or mostly electric equipment — not just in California,” Hungerford says. That’s a trend spanning across multiple segments and C&U is no different; they’re even more at the forefront of it because they are designing and renovating for the future, she adds. “We’re finding that equipment manufacturers are trying to step up their game and respond to that need for electric in large-scale kitchens, but we’re not completely there yet; not everything is equivalent,” she says. Additionally, the infrastructure to support all electric may not be available for most clients without a major investment.

Equipment & Design Impact

A growing point of view is that the overlapping region of the Venn Diagram is not there yet: That key intersection of the desire/goal to operate in an ultra-sustainable, environmentally forward way meeting up with the right equipment being available and the power grid in place and ready to support it all. “We’re not always able to find the equivalent in electric — a gas wok experience is not the same cooking as an induction wok,” Hungerford says. “In the higher ed space, it’s still kind of a shock to [foodservice directors] when new policies call for a dining hall to be all-electric. We’re still in need of education, industry acceptance and training on new electric-powered cooking equipment.”