On Wednesday, October 5th the Sewanee Dining Advisory met for the first time of the academic year. The Advisory is a group of students that meets on a monthly basis to discuss the ways that Sewanee Dining can be improved. Any student is welcome to attend the meetings and give their own input. At this particular meeting, there were six Sewanee students present along with three members of Sewanee dining, including Chef Rick. During the meeting, Chef Rick asked each student present what their thoughts and concerns were about Sewanee Dining and he responded to them accordingly. He also asked each of us for specific ideas we had to improve the Sewanee Dining experience.
While this meeting covered all aspects of Sewanee Dining, the central focus was on McClurg. One of the main topics of discussion was the availability of grilled chicken on a daily basis - each student agreed that it would be a helpful addition to the grill station. We also discussed having more lean and simple proteins available as well as a wider variety at the vegan line. Since discussing these issues at the meeting, the McClurg staff has responded accordingly: you can now find grilled chicken at the grill station!
Chef Rick stressed to each of us that McClurg strives to be accommodating to every Sewanee student individually, meaning that the staff is willing to fulfill any special requests at all times. This may include asking for a gluten free pizza at the pizza station, grilled chicken at the grill line, or for sautéed vegetables at the salad line. Whatever special request you may have, Chef Rick encourages us to each be creative with the many options that McClurg has to offer. If you feel like you could use some tips on how to be creative with your Clurg, check out these hacks for the vegan line and salad bar.
At the end of the meeting, we were encouraged to continue speaking up about anything we may find unsatisfactory about McClurg in the future. As Sewanee Dining continues to make efforts to improve, do not hesitate to voice any concerns to Chef Rick himself by sending him an email at rrwright@sewanee.edu. It was clear from both this meeting and the improvements that were made in the dining hall that our input as students is never ignored, so be sure to never let your voice go unheard.