Bon Appétit Management Company Wins Top Honors for Campus Food from Princeton Review

Students at Wheaton College rank local, sustainable food #1 in Princeton Review survey

Palo Alto, CA (Aug 2, 2011)—Bon Appétit Management Company at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL, has been recognized as offering the best college food nationally in Princeton Review’s annual survey of 122,000 students at the country’s top colleges. Out of all colleges ranked in the food category, Wheaton took the top slot for its tasty, healthy, innovative, responsibly sourced, local, seasonal food prepared by Bon Appétit Management Company chefs.

“We’re thrilled that Wheaton students appreciate the care and skill that our chefs put into every dish,” said Fedele Bauccio, CEO and cofounder of Bon Appétit Management Company. “Each Bon Appétit chef creates a custom culinary program based on our companywide kitchen principles. The team at Wheaton College has excelled in making our commitments to local, responsible sourcing, from-scratch cooking, and healthy preparations a delicious reality on the plate. I am proud to see their efforts recognized by the Princeton Review.”

Highlights of Bon Appétit’s onsite culinary program at Wheaton include:

  • Bon Appétit chefs purchase from more than 30 local family farms through the company’s Farm to Fork program.
  • Bon Appétit chefs cook entirely from scratch, never relying on premade or processed foods. For example, each week the kitchen at Wheaton produces 120 gallons of fat-free plain and assorted flavored yogurts and 10 to 15 gallons of sour cream using milk from nearby Kilgus Farmstead.
  • Burgers are made by hand from local beef and turkey.
  • Mozzarella cheese for pizzas is hand-grated and sourced locally, and the pizza dough is made from scratch on the premises.
  • Wheaton’s salad bar is loaded with local lettuces, a range of whole grains such as quinoa, teff, and spelt, as well as dozens of different varieties of rice and legumes.
  • Personalized dietary services are available to students with food allergies or sensitivities.

The Princeton Review creates a top 20 in each of 62 categories from the 376 colleges studied. Students are asked 80 questions ranking everything about college life from professors, to financial aid, to health services. The rankings will appear in The Best 376 Colleges: 2012 Edition, on sale August 2 (Random House / Princeton Review, $22.99). Annually published since 1992, The Best 376 Colleges is one of more than 150 Princeton Review books published by Random House.

About Bon Appétit Management Company
Bon Appétit Management Company (www.bamco.com) is an on-site restaurant company offering full food-service management to corporations, universities, and specialty venues. Based in Palo Alto, CA, Bon Appétit has more than 400 cafés in 31 states, including eBay, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Getty Center, and is committed to sourcing sustainable, local foods for all cafés throughout the country. A pioneer in environmentally sound sourcing policies, Bon Appétit has developed programs addressing local purchasing, the overuse of antibiotics, sustainable seafood, cage-free eggs, the connection between food and climate change, and, most recently, farm worker welfare. The company has received numerous awards for its work from such organizations as the Natural Resources Defense Council, Seafood Choices Alliance, The Humane Society of the United States, and Food Alliance.

Contact:
Bonnie Azab Powell, [email protected]; 650-621-0871
Photos by Carlos Vergara Photography:  Wheaton Students (high-res version) | Wheaton Salad Bar (high-res version)