If you’ve never complained about your school’s cafeteria food, you’re either lying, go to one of these top 14 schools, or don’t have taste buds. Lately here at Wake there has been an onslaught of negative commentary about our on-campus dining options.
It’s virtually impossible to make rounds at the Pit without hearing something along the lines of “there’s noooothing to eat,” “what the hell is this,” or even the occasional insensitive complaint about the dining staff.
Sure, the Pit is no five-star restaurant and hardly ever comes even remotely close to Mom’s home cooking, but it isn’t deserving of the harsh commentary that circulates through our campus. According to Barrett Redmond, creator of the legendary Instagram account @pitstagram_wfu, “It’s not the Pit’s fault—it’s your fault for not making the best of it.”
If anyone’s capable of restoring Wake’s faith in the Pit, it’s Barrett—making her the perfect choice for our first Campus Foodie.
A sophomore from Richmond, VA, Barrett Redmond is a BEM non-profit management major and dual entrepreneurship and studio art minor (her artistic ability is certainly evident in all of her photos). As she put it herself, she “obviously” loves food — especially avocado, goat cheese, or anything drizzled in pesto.
Get this: Barrett credits the Pit, of all places, for turning to her into a foodie. Before coming to Wake, she enjoyed the “communal experience” of going out to eat with her family, but wasn’t particularly into cooking herself.
After joking around with the idea of a Pit cookbook with her friends (she kept recipe lists on her phone), Barrett decided to share her wealth of knowledge by creating an Instagram account. Her 500+ followers are very appreciative.
When asked if she had any help on the account, Barrett responded, “I’m kind of protective of it.” Though she is the only one with login capabilities, she admitted that she is often surrounded by chuckling friends when she posts.
Though her friends make jokes about the existence of the account, they are apparently quite helpful in helping her create the perfect posts. While the majority of pictures come straight from Barrett, she’ll get an occasional direct message submission or a text from a friend. Interested in getting more people involved, she welcomes picture submissions and recipe ideas that she can recreate herself.
Barrett’s go-to meal at the Pit this semester has been toast with hummus, spinach, and a fried egg from the omelet bar. A generally healthy eater, one of her go-to meals when she’s not at the Pit is a salad from Forest Greens.
Off-campus, Barrett loves the Porch. Even while away from her home base, she’s constantly scheming up ideas—at a recent trip to the Porch, she became inspired by their black bean and sweet potato quesadilla and hopes to eventually recreate it in the Pit.
Part of the appeal of the Pit for Barrett is the fact that it’s a very social atmosphere—unlike any other dining experience on campus. That said, she has been recently considering expanding the account to the New Pit.
Some closing advice from Barrett: “Keep playing with your food. Get creative. The Pit’s great, and the Pit workers are even greater.”
Interested in some inspiration? Give @pitstagram_wfu a follow and check out this article for some ideas on how to take advantage one of the Pit’s most useful features: the panini press.