New Year, New Menu: Improvements to the Cafeteria Menu
Karen Soltau, Supervisor of Campus Services, has been hard at work this summer, with the cafeteria staff, to expand and improve the menu. Karen has improved and replaced the cafeteria’s two-week rotating menu with a six-week rolling menu in which there are many new dishes, as well as some old favourites.
In addition to expanding the menu, Karen has brought in Ron Pickarski, President and Certified Executive Chef of Eco-Cuisine, Inc. to train staff in cooking vegetarian and vegan dishes so that students have more healthy options. Ron, the first professional vegetarian chef to be certified as an Executive Chef by the American Culinary Federation, founded Eco-Cuisine in 1986. Ron is a culinologist (food technologist) and has developed many unique vegetarian products and meat substitutes that Tyndale’s food service department is working with.
“Business is a ministry.” Ron says, “It’s not about not making money, but money is not the bottom line; the bottom line is service.” Ron knows what it is to be unhealthy, when he was young he was overweight, and so were his parents. “After I went to culinary school I began to realize the relationship between eating meat and dairy products and my health.” However, Ron does not proselytize a strict vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. Ron says that diet comes from a Greek word meaning “way of life”, and that is how he sees his food; he believes vegetarianism is not for everyone, but that anyone can incorporate vegetarian dishes into their way of life. “I especially like working with the younger generation. It is about alleviating the potential health problems that begin when you’re young.”
Tyndale is working hard to improve its campus services. With renovations over the summer, improvements to residence, and updates to the cafeteria menu, returning students should notice a lot of positive change.