News & Events

Register Now for Chef Net 2013!

Join us at Azusa Pacific University next month for the 2013 Chef Net Conference! Learn new skills and explore upcoming trends in college dining that will keep you and your team ahead of the curve, while still achieving your business goals. You won't want to miss it! The deadline for registration is May 24th. Click here to get the official flier with information on hotel accomodations and registration form from the Pacific Region Library.

Conference Highlights:

-Tour Azusa Pacific University

-Network with colleagues, guest speakers and participate in culinary forum discussions

-Gain insight on menu engineering and wellness trends

-Participate in rountable discussions on hot-topic items

-Tour local farms, and much more!

Questions? Contact Jim Cacciatore, Assistant Director of Hospitality Services, Azusa Pacific University

Email: jcacciatore@apu.edu

Phone: (626) 815-6000 ext. 3041
Registration for the 2013 Pacific/Continental Regional Conference is NOW OPEN!

Join us in Reno, NV for exciting opportunities to bolster your food service skills by attending dynamic educational sessions, networking with your peers and enjoying all that the “Biggest Little City in the World” has to offer!

The conference will be taking place Thursday, March 21st – Saturday, March 23rd at the Silver Legacy Resort. Click HERE for hotel information.

Register HERE by February 27th for a discounted rate, and be sure to check out the amazing pre-conference events, including a ski outing, lunch at a local Basque restaurant and brewery, and tours of historic Virginia City and the University of Nevada, Reno dining operations.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to join your food service colleagues for three days of inspirational speakers, delicious meals and educational sessions that will help you to be a better food service professional. You can view the Conference website HERE or contact the Conference Marketing Chair, Darin Schluep (daschluep@ucdavis.edu) if you have any questions.

See you in Reno!
UC San Diego Dining Hosts Thanksgiving Meal for Resident Staff and Students!

Some of UC San Diego's Resident staff and students aren't able to leave campus during the holidays, but they didn't have to miss out on good home-cooked meal for Thanksgiving this year! Some UC San Diego Housing Dining Hospitality employees generously offered to spend part of their own holiday preparing a wonderful array of classic Thanksgiving dishes for the residential community. The student R.A.'s helped decorate the Great Hall with hand-made centerpieces and organized fun activities like a pie making contest, turkey bowling, and even a group photo-shoot with a large inflatable turkey! For those who had to stay on campus that day, it felt just like home: good food, good friends, and a good old fun time! Click here for pictures!
Ramen Wars at Stanford University!

By Cynthia Liu

Stanford University’s dining halls kicked off their Ramen Wars this fall. Gary Arthur, Director of Operations for Stanford University’s Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) Dining and Hospitality & Auxiliaries, came up with the idea: “I wanted something to get our chefs closely engaged in cooking with students. It’s all about the interaction between chefs and students.” Ramen Wars originated in Japan, where ramen masters in a particular area vie for bragging rights and customers.

“What student doesn’t like ramen? It’s the quintessential student food,” said Arthur. Yet the ramen found in Stanford’s dining halls is a far cry from the instant ramen that is ready to eat after adding boiling water. In their quest to prepare the best ramen dish for the Ramen Wars, Stanford’s chefs are also educating students about the tradition and authenticity of ramen as part of R&DE’s commitment to creating a culture of excellence. Stanford chefs simmer chicken, pork or seafood for hours to create a broth with rich flavors and depth. Shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), miso, pork tonkatsu and spicy kimchee are among the variations created on campus. Much like the ramen chefs in the movie Tampopo, Stanford dining hall chefs take their ramen seriously.

The inaugural Ramen Wars event was held in October, when all eight dining halls and their culinary staff set forth with the intent of producing the best ramen. The chefs’ creations included specialties such as eight-hour applewood-smoked pork belly ramen, homemade maitake mushroom chips, and strip loin ramen with shiitake mushrooms.

Subsequently, Ramen Wars have become individual matchups between two dining halls as a chef of one dining hall challenges a chef of another dining hall. During a Ramen Wars challenge, 12 student judges from each of the two competing dining halls meet at the dining hall hosting the challenge. The students do a blind tasting of ramen from the two dining halls, then vote with a secret ballot. The dining hall which receives the most votes is declared the winner and winning chef is immediately awarded the Ramen Wars trophy bowl, keeping the trophy until the next challenge. The challenges are very popular, energetic and when the winner is declared, the entire dining hall cheers and applauds.
Grand Opening of Glendora Cafe and Bakery at Azuza Pacific!

The Azusa Pacific University-owned and operated Glendora Café and Bakery celebrated its grand opening Tuesday morning, November 20th. With APU staff and students and Glendora city officials on hand, the bakery enjoyed a busy grand opening at its new location at 229 W. Foothill Blvd.
Specializing in baked goods, breads, cakes, pies and breakfast sandwiches, the bakery is run by bakers Bruce Blair of Glendora and Dean Gotto of Covina, along with a staff of APU students and food services staff. The bakery boasts a menu of freshly baked sweets and bread using ingredients with no preservatives.
Proceeds from the café and bakery go toward the university.
The bakery is open Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and closed Sunday.
UC San Diego is a Final Contender in Peta2's Most Vegan-Friendly Colleges Contest!

UC San Diego is squaring off against Cornell as the Nation's Most Vegan-Friendly College. If you are interested in voting, please click here! Here is the blurb Peta2 put about UC San Diego on the voting page:

"In January of 2012, the University of California–San Diego introduced an all-new vegan dining hall called Roots! This was great news for students, who now get to enjoy an assortment of scrumptious vegan sandwiches and wraps, such as the Spicy Sierra—made with chopped vegan chicken in house barbecue sauce, with chipotle soy crème and caramelized onions—and El Capitan, a tomato Italian sausage with sautéed peppers, onions, and vegan mozzarella. Other vegan options have expanded all over campus, including the grab 'n' go market, which offers 12 in-house vegan sandwiches and salads this fall."
Cal Dining celebrates national Food Day

Monica Harnoto and Anna Yap.

On October 24, 2012, UC Berkeley’s Cal Dining, in partnership with Health Matters at University Health Services, led a campus-wide celebration of Food Day. Food Day is a nationwide celebration and a movement toward more healthy, affordable, and sustainable foods that aims to strengthen and unify the food movement in order to improve U.S. food policies. This celebration was made possible with a $3,875 grant from The Green Initiative Fund, a campus organization that provides funding for projects that reduce UC Berkeley's negative impact on the environment.

Over 1000 students enjoyed UC Berkeley’s Food Day, which featured a variety of festivities on Upper Sproul Plaza put on by student groups, vendors, and chefs. Twelve student organizations tabled throughout the day, with causes ranging from organic gardening to pollution associated with food transportation. Musical entertainment was provided by the student acapella group DeCadence. Local vendors - Annie’s Homegrown, Ritual Coffee Roasters, and Purity Organics - gave out free samples, and Back to the Roots raffled off sustainable mushroom growing kits.

Students also enjoyed live cooking demonstrations from MikeC., co-founder and executive chef at Kitchen on Fire, and Michael Koh, a UC Berkeley Senior that started his own food truck, Dojo Dog, during his Junior year. The “Trash Talk” team, a group of students dedicated to responsible waste, ensured that this was a sustainable event, guiding students to properly toss waste into either composting or recycling. The celebration continued in Cal Dining’s Crossroads Dining Commons, where Minh Tsai, founder, director, and co-CEO of Hodo Soy Beanery in Oakland showcased the rather peculiar process of making tofu, and prepared some simple dishes for spectators.

UC Berkeley’s Food Day ended with full stomachs and high spirits, encouraging the Cal community to be more thoughtful about what one eats and where it comes from.

Click here for photos from the event!
UC San Diego Opens Exclusively Vegan / Vegetarian Eatery and Lounge!

Now Open!

Roots is the University of California, San Diego's first exclusively vegetarian / vegan eatery and lounge. Located on the Muir College campus below Pines Restaurant, Roots has a clean, modern feel that reflects its menu perfectly. Diners can choose from a delicious variety of hearty entrees, sides, snacks, or smoothies. And unlike many "vegetarian" establishments, Roots features a predominantly Vegan menu. Click here for an article about UCSD's newest addition to the dining family!

Eat healthy. Eat clean. Eat at Roots!
Whats Hot on Campus: Performance Dining at Stanford!

By Cyntha Liu, Stanford University

Stanford University’s newly opened Arrillaga Family Dining Commons features the Performance Dining program, which was designed with synergistic food and nutrient combinations and performance themes in mind to help students perform at their mental and physical peak. Wellness and Performance Dining falls under their EatWell program, which encompasses fresh, healthy and sustainable food. The goal of the program, which is open to all students on the dining plan, is to educate students about the relationship between food components, energy output and ability of the body to use food components to improve performance in mind, body and spirit.

Performance Dining @Stanford consists of six main categories:
• Enhanced Immunity
When students are training hard in a sport or under a lot of stress, they are more susceptible to colds, flu, and infection—making it even more important to improve the immune system. A major key in optimizing immunity is to prevent nutrient deficiencies that can compromise the immune system.
• Anti-inflammatory Components
“Silent” inflamma¬tion (chronic low-grade inflammation) is connected to a number of diseases. Certain compounds in food, from fatty acids and vitamins to phytochemicals, have anti-inflammatory action within body tissues.
• Food Synergy
Food Synergy is how components in food, such as phytochemicals, fiber, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, work together for maximum health benefit and are more effective and enhanced together than separately.
• Brain Performance
What one eats and drinks can boost brainpower in the short and long term. The part of the brain responsible for memory and learning is highly susceptible to inflammation. Foods rich in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, in general, will likely improve brain performance. In addition, specific components in foods may also improve brain performance by helping to remove harmful biochemical products that accumulate in the brain. Furthermore, foods rich in protein seem to improve short-term brain performance, i.e. concentration and alertness.
• Sports Performance
What students eat and drink can enhance or detract from sports performance and recovery. Carbohydrates, which power muscle contractions, are the most important fuel for exercising muscles. High-quality protein eaten soon after strenuous exercise is essential for muscle recovery and repair. In addition, vitamins and minerals are involved in energy production, bone health, immune function, and building and repair of muscle.
• Antioxidants
Antioxidants are nutrients such as phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals, which, by opposing “oxidation,” help keep the immune system strong and help protect the body from cellular damage caused by free radicals.

The Performance Dining initiative was introduced and championed by Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) Senior Associate Vice Provost Shirley Everett, and was developed by Stanford Dining (a division of R&DE), led by Executive Director Eric Montell, in partnership with Stanford Athletics, the School of Medicine and the Culinary Institute of America. As part of this initiative, a Wellness and Performance Dining Nutritionist position was created in Stanford Dining to collaborate on the program.
Volunteer with the NACUFS Pacific Region!

By Deb Crawford, Chair of Marketing Committee, Pacific Region

The reasons are numerous and the list of benefits is a long one! There are also countless possible ways to volunteer depending on how much time you have to spend and what your interests include.
NACUFS is driven by the varied and changing needs of its members. As a volunteer, you have the opportunity to actively engage in activities that are important to the association's future, keeping it relevant and ensuring that it offers the programs and resources you need. This won't just help move the association forward—it will help you hone your skills and expertise, and create lasting relationships with your peers.

Benefits of Volunteering
As a new member to the NACUFS family, volunteering offers the unique opportunity of meeting many members and forming meaningful relationships with participants. In addition to personal growth, the chance to really get to know industry leaders provides professional opportunities as well. As a volunteer, you often meet the NACUFS leadership groups and influential people in the industry.

Volunteering, at any level, can provide you with educational opportunities as well. By getting a behind the scenes look, you will learn more about the NACUFS organization then is possible by simply attending conferences.

Types of Volunteering & How to Volunteer
There are as many options for volunteering as there are benefits! Below is a list of possible volunteer opportunities for the next year and the appropriate person to contact if you are interested in volunteering for that specific task.

-Regional Conference Help (March 2013)- Could collect dinner tickets, help with registration or a variety of other one time tasks to assist with the conference. Contact Russ Meyer rfmeyer@unr.edu

-Education Committee- Mostly correspondence through email, committee members assist with developing ideas for educational sessions at conferences and sub-regional topics. Contact Dianna Benting dianna.benting@pcc.edu

-Membership Committee- Mostly correspondence through email, committee members assist with activities to improve regional membership. Contact Diana Sobczynski dianas@uoregon.edu

-Marketing Committee- Mostly correspondence through email, committee members assist with writing articles for newsletters and developing promotions directed by the council. Contact Deb Crawford deb.crawford@pcc.edu

-Nutrition Committee- Mostly correspondence through email, committee members assist with researching nutritional trends and information for newsletters and conferences. Contact Tara Sanders Tara.Sanders@oregonstate.edu

-Serve on the Regional Council Run for office, and if elected, serve (requires at least a 2 year commitment). Time commitment and duties will vary depending on the position. Contact Robert Holden roholden@ucsd.edu