Bon Appétit Management Company

At Bon Appétit, we like not only fresh produce but fresh cafés, too. At University of Redlands in Redlands, CA, it was time to remodel both cafés and student spending plans — tastefully, of course.

Ronnybrook Farm Dairy invites all of their customers to visit their picturesque farm in the heart of the Hudson Valley. Bon Appétit chefs at Wesleyan University in Middleton, CT, who buy milk, yogurt and frozen yogurt from Ronnybrook, decided to take them up on the offer, and bring along a group of Wesleyan students studying environmental science.

As a food service company, one of the joys of working directly with college students is helping to instill a healthy eating mindset in young people who are living independently for the first time. But reaching kids at even younger ages can be helpful in preventing bad habits from really taking hold.

Quinoa Tahini Cookies. A nutty protein kick to the typical cookie treat. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

If asked, few people might say turnips were on their Top 10 list, but mash them like potatoes with butter and milk, and what guest would turn them down? And many shy away from other lesser-known vegetables for fear of the unknown or lack of cooking knowledge, but chefs — especially lovers of local and seasonal — live for showing off many underserved vegetables and highlighting their best qualities.

Farm to Fork took on a whole new meaning — and a much shorter distance—this spring and summer at Regis University in Denver, as gardens planted and tended by Bon Appétit staff members yielded bounties for the kitchen.

When our chefs at Reed and Lewis & Clark Colleges first sat down with Ava Mikolavich from Urban Gleaners to discuss a food recovery program they were skeptical of how much food they could actually donate. Yet since April, the two cafés have donated a total of more than 5,000 pounds of food!

Still, as Dani Turk from the hunger relief organization Food Life Line once said, “Though it may seem like nothing, one piece of lasagna is still a dinner for a person in need.” So in April, the two schools began donating leftover food that would otherwise go to waste to Urban Gleaners.

Cajun Tofu Burger. Spice up your meat-free barbecue options and impress your vegetarian friends. Makes 6 to 8 burgers.

The Art Institute of Chicago hosts hundreds of high-profile events throughout the year, but one of the hottest tickets this spring was the inaugural Chef ’s Playground benefit for the Academy for Global Citizenship (AGC).

Bon Appétit may talk about environmental stewardship, but wouldn’t you rather hear it from the Dalai Lama? Participants at a multi-venue Environmental Summit — including the University of Portland in Portland, OR—got to do just that.