Lunch with Aramark
MAGALLY ZELAYA, STAFF
The Manitoban’s Magally Zelaya was invited to lunch with U of M Food Services director Daryl Lucyk, Aramark general manager Debbie Jenings, and executive chef Kevin Nagy on Sept. 14. She got their thoughts on a variety of topics. Take a look at what she learned about dining with Aramark.
On Pembina Hall . . .
The renovations to the dining hall, originally built in 1964, were not complete by the original deadline of Sept. 1. A buffet-style table was set up until the Fresh Food Company opened on Sept. 9.
On what’s missing: “The last piece of our puzzle is the exhaust [hood for the grill] and some lighting.” — Jenings
On completion dates:
“It’s hard to say right now, I think we’re probably, to be realistic, another week out, hopefully next week.”— Lucyk
On Frank Kennedy . . .
The completion date for the campus’s third Tim Hortons, also originally scheduled to open on Sept. 1, is unknown, but it is nonetheless still in the works.
“We’re still certainly in the area of the drawing board.”— Lucyk
“There’s never been cooking at Frank Kennedy . . . that place doesn’t meet code for a restaurant.”— Jenings
On Hard Chalk Café . . .
“Hopefully Tuesday.” [Sept. 18, expected date of completion.] — Lucyk
“[Because of asbestos] we were fairly restricted as to what [we] could do since we had to replace the whole ceiling.”— Lucyk
“We had to prioritize because not everything could be physically done in time, so we prioritized [Pembina Hall].”— Jenings
On the renovation process . . .
“From the time that the contract was signed at the end of April to the time we [had] to open, we [had] 20 weeks to get permits, approvals, asbestos removal.” —Jenings
On the delay . . .
“The contracting of trades is a challenge in Winnipeg.”— Lucyk
“[Was] it a realistic window for construction of this magnitude? Probably not.”— Jenings
On slow service . . .
“We did lots of training. Our training was in health and safety, handling, customer service, [and] dealing with change. But people have to get accustomed to their new stations.”— Jenings
“We have wonderful staff and they are adapting. Everyday they get more comfortable with their surroundings and with what they’re doing. The staff are doing great, considering the amount of changes they’ve had to go through.”— Jenings
On improving long lines . . .
“You really can’t . . . I would alter break time . . . So we’ll put that to the university.” —Lucyk
On priorities. . .
“We want to get open, that was the big hurdle.”— Lucyk
“The mechanics of it all. How we can be a little bit more efficient in what we’re doing?”—Lucyk
“To really make sure that menu selections are meeting expectations.” — Lucyk
“Feedback is important, never mind because we’re opening new things, but on an ongoing basis.” — Lucyk
On the future . . .
“It’s an ongoing process and will it ever be perfect? No. It can’t be. It can always be better.” — Jenings
On the food industry . . .
“Our business is like a leaky hose. You get one leak plugged up, you’re pretty happy, then water stars coming out and you don’t want to use the same tape because it didn’t work before, so you have new tape and you fix [the next] hole. It never ends.” — Lucyk
On the bright side . . .
“There’s going to be hiccups along the way, but as long as we’re always moving towards better . . . as long as we’re getting better at service and better food that’s what we’re looking for.” — Jenings
