St. Olaf Honored Once Again for Best Campus Food

The Princeton Review does more than prepare anxious students for high-stakes admissions tests. It also offers a slew of rankings, including a closely watched list of which campuses have the best food. For the third consecutive year, the Bon Appétit team at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN, was invited to celebrate its high ranking (number 5 this time!) at the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts.

Sous Chef Ngoc Nguyen (right) with a UMass culinary helper

Executive Chef Matthew Fogarty, Pastry Chef Richard Hays, Sous Chef Ngoc Nguyen, and General Manager Traci Quinnell attended the celebration, which included plenty of cooking. Matthew sent a menu of campus favorites ahead of time, the UMass culinary team ordered product, and the St. Olaf Bon Appétiters prepped their dishes the day before the event. The menu pulled out all the stops, featuring loaded baked potato salad with smoked salmon and smoked cheddar; scalloped cowboy-skillet corn with green chilis and crushed crackers; edamame and black bean salad with bucatini and grilled-tomato vinaigrette; togarashi braised pork with pickled-ginger sticky-rice dumplings and sesame slaw; cauliflower- potato vindaloo with mint yogurt and naan; and Mississippi mocha-almond fudge cake.

Executive Chef Matthew Fogarty preparing the togarashi braised pork

Lucky UMass students got to enjoy the feast, which is always a pleasure for chefs and diners alike. “Bringing three new faces was a great team-building exercise and a great way to see how other education accounts operate,” said Richard. “The UMass culinary team was very helpful and supportive and they really added to a great event!”

While the number 5 ranking is impressive, the St. Olaf team has basked in this particular limelight before. In fact, the team has made it into the top 5 five times in the past 10 years!

Submitted by Traci Quinnell, General Manager