Nicole Carty '10 recalled her favorite part of last semester's cheese-themed night at campus dining halls: "It's always entertaining when you see Gail wearing a cheese head," she said of the popular Sharpe Refectory employee.
Students who don't associate the Ratty and Verney-Woolley Dining Hall with fine dining and entertainment may be pleasantly surprised at least three times a year, when Dining Services presents special, themed nights or invites guest chefs to cook at the Ratty and V-Dub.
The once-a-semester theme night and annual guest-chef event are a way for Dining Services to "break up the monotony for students," said Paul Murray, a Dining Services supervisor who works at the V-Dub.
Murray said groups of Dining Services supervisors are charged with coming up with theme-night ideas and are responsible for planning all aspects of the event, from the food to the decorations and entertainment.
Though supervisors must work within a budget - a special night usually comes to $6.50 a plate at the V-Dub and slightly less at the Ratty, according to V-Dub cook Nancy Adams - Murray said the supervisors "shoot for the moon." For example, "Taste of Las Vegas" last month featured roast sirloin and seafood pot pie.
"I remember several years ago, we had lobster," Murray added.
Executive Chef John O'Shea said almost anything is possible. "You just need to figure it out and have a balance between a high-cost item and a low-cost item," O'Shea said, noting that theme nights have been occurring at Brown since before he joined Dining Services 31 years ago.
But it's not just food that makes for a good theme night. Decorations and entertainment are also part of the experience.
Last semester's "Cheese Fest" offered students the chance to take their picture with a cut-out of a cow while wearing a giant cheese head - a la Green Bay Packers fans - or cheese crown. The Las Vegas night featured a karaoke machine that let students - talented or not - belt out popular tunes.
A harpist, blues band and jazz band have also performed at past theme nights, Murray said.
Though some students may enjoy the theme nights as a change of pace from regular dining-hall fare, they can also look forward to visiting-chef events. This year's event, slated for Thursday night, will feature chef Barry Correia, a member of the Johnson & Wales University Distinguished Visiting Chef Hall of Fame.
For Thursday night's dinner, Correia's menu will include salmon teriyaki, chorizo steak and raspberry Cornish hens, among other delicacies, O'Shea said. Correia will also demonstrate how he will prepare the entrees to 50 raffle winners in one of the Ratty's private dining rooms on Thursday.
O'Shea, who coordinates the visiting-chef nights, said the program is in its seventh year of existence and is "a huge addition to our program."
The process behind creating a guest-chef night is a long one. It starts with O'Shea and his team choosing a chef and visiting the restaurant. If the food is suitable, the team works with the chef to recreate the recipes on a large scale. For example, O'Shea first contacted Correia last April and has been working with him closely in the last few months.
"I have the chef come in here and then see how we did creating his recipe. In restaurants, it's a la menu cooking," O'Shea said. Most recipes might call for two teaspoons of salt or a pound of beef, but cooking in a dining hall makes following those instructions a challenge.
O'Shea is particular about the quality of the dishes. "It's very important to me to maintain the integrity of that restaurant's flavor profiles," he said, noting that when chefs visit Brown, they are putting both their restaurant and reputation on the line.
But there are hurdles to planning these special nights, such as ensuring that there are healthy choices and enough variety on the menu.
"Usually, I just make sure that there's variety on the menu so that whether you're a red meat-eater or a vegan or it's a kosher holiday, that you're going to find something to eat that night that's special," said Bridget Visconti, administrative dietician for Dining Services.
But a few students, like Anabel Agloro '09, said some of the menus have been too limiting. Last semester's cheese-themed night, though well-received by many students, "wasn't very considerate for those who are lactose-intolerant," she said.
Another difficult aspect of planning Dining Services special events is predicting the amount of ingredients needed for a special meal. Dining Services officials record the quantities of ingredients used for every meal served in a special software program, which uses the data to forecast future numbers.
But, O'Shea said, "It's not a perfect science." Visconti said Dining Services expects an average of 2,000 diners at the Ratty and 900 at the V-Dub on special nights. Dining Services plans to serve 1,350 portions of Cornish hens and 1,900 portions of chorizo steak, among other items, on Thursday, O'Shea said.
Students have mixed reactions to the special events.
Kasey Genin '09 described the theme meals as "creative, bad food." John Noh '10 said "trying something different was nice," but he said long dining-hall lines during the special cheese event last semester kept him away.
Hannah Perez-Postman '10 said she would prefer theme nights once a month and suggested that Dining Services serve more "food from different places."
Carty said a formal dinner would be fun. A "black-tie (event) at the Ratty - that would be awesome," she said.
