McKayla Kendall ’26 was navigating the different lunch options at Commons on Wednesday when she saw the man she’s followed on Instagram. The Bobcat Swim Camp counselor from Bangor, Maine, didn’t hesitate to approach the college’s new president. 

“You’re Garry, right?” Kendall boomed, before asking, of all things, about Taylor Swift. 

As Garry W. Jenkins moved through the �ֲ���ý campus during a daylong tour, he was more than happy to stop, discuss, and share his knowledge of Swift’s songs.

“This is a very, very cool president. I’m excited,” Kendall said. “I saw on Instagram he went to see Taylor Swift with his husband in Minnesota. Of course I’m going to mention that. We talked about her surprise songs at her concert.”

Jenkins, who became president on July 1, used Wednesday as his get-to-know �ֲ���ý day. And he made an impression wherever he went. A wide range of folks in the �ֲ���ý community got to meet him, and many described Jenkins as authentic, attentive, down-to-earth and just plain kind. At every turn, he stopped to ask what people did; then listened intently to each person’s story. 

“I was very impressed that his eyes never left mine,” said Kirk Read, professor of French and francophone studies. “I spoke with him about department work on [diversity, equity, and inclusion]. He’s tapping into everyone’s talent and good will. I’m wildly enthusiastic. I’ve been here 33 years, but I don’t want to miss this next chapter.”

Jenkins, who was unanimously elected by �ֲ���ý Board of Trustees as the school’s ninth president in February, came to �ֲ���ý after serving as dean of the University of Minnesota Law School since 2016. Prior to that, he was professor of law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he also served as associate dean for academic affairs for eight years. 

Donald Tobin, a former Moritz colleague, said he once tried to “outlisten” Jenkins. “But it can’t be done,” Tobin said. “And Garry’s ability to listen makes him a fantastic leader.”

The trademark quality was on full display Wednesday.

Jenkins officially took over as �ֲ���ý’ president as June 30 turned to July 1 at midnight on Friday night. Monday was a day spent getting set up on his computers and sending his first email to the �ֲ���ý faculty and staff: an invitation for a “beverage and a cookie” provided by the college’s new food truck, dubbed Curb Cats, beside Lake Andrews. 

“I very much look forward to meeting you in the weeks and months ahead and learning more about all that you are doing — and all that you have planned,” Jenkins wrote.

He started the day on Wednesday with a walk through Lane Hall, where his office is located. Popping into offices, he stopped for brief chats. In the office of Tom McGuinness, director of institutional research, analysis and planning, he waved to folks on a Zoom meeting.

Visiting the �ֲ���ý Communications Office, he complimented the large photos lining a hallway — and wondered if similar photos of �ֲ���ý people and events could cover an entire wall in his own office. 

At the Curb Cats gathering, Jenkins weaved in and out of the crowd of 50. Reggie Thames, a dining room attendant in Commons, was one of the first to shake Jenkins’ hand. The new president then pivoted to Jason Tardif, a cook supervisor in Commons.

“He seems like a cool guy, very down to earth. He seems authentic,” Tardif said later.

A half hour after the food truck left and the crowd dispersed, Jenkins remained by the lake, talking with every last person.

“He talks to you like he’s a friend. I found that amazing,” said Sakina Saidi ’26 from Afghanistan, who is doing research at �ֲ���ý this summer. “He asked what I was doing this summer. I felt he included me in the conversation.”

During lunchtime in Commons, Jenkins met Elliot Chun ’18 on the grill line and talked with the alum about the work Chun does for LifeHikes, a no-cost nonprofit that teaches communications and leadership skills. Chun, a summer counselor at the �ֲ���ý swim camp, was delighted to find himself on a food line next to the new president, who carried a plate of rice, vegetables and a lentil pattie.

“He seems very cool. Very kind,” Chun said. “He kept asking me questions about my career and what path it took after �ֲ���ý, and how I think �ֲ���ý helped me make the transition. I’m not afraid to reinvent myself.” 

After a lunch with faculty and staff who are leading a few different academic initiatives, Jenkins toured academic buildings with Malcolm Hill, vice president for academic affairs and the dean of faculty. At Bonney Science Center, he ran into Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Geneva Laurita, who shared a bit about her work on non-toxic alternatives, as well as the $582,000 National Science Foundation grant she was awarded. 

“I’m thrilled to meet you. I’m very excited you’re here,” Laurita told Jenkins.

Next, he toured Carnegie Science Hall; Coram Library, site of the new Immersive Media Studio; and the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning in Dana Hall. He saw the ongoing renovations in Chase Hall, and visited Pettegrew Hall, where Assistant Professor of Dance Tristan Koepke invited Jenkins in to watch the young dancers with the �ֲ���ý Dance Festival as they flitted and flew around Gannett Theater. 

As he neared the end of a long, 90-degree day at �ֲ���ý, Garry Jenkins looked like he was just getting warmed up. 

“Accessible, welcoming, warm, and kind,” was how Professor Emeritus of History Dennis Grafflin described Jenkins after meeting him on Wednesday. “Those are all good things. That’s the way �ֲ���ý is supposed to be.”

While most students were getting their lunches in the dining area in Commons, others made their way upstairs to watch Dining Services’ executive chef, Owen Keene, flip some omelets.

Keene was giving a cooking demo as part of the “Life After �ֲ���ý” series from the Center for Purposeful Work and the Office for Intercultural Education. He used his kitchen and grocery-store prowess to impart some wisdom on students in the hopes that their post-grad lives will be a little less daunting, and a little more delicious.

Keene showed students how to make a veggie omelet, a vegetable soup, and a roasted vegetable and chicken pasta salad, all made from a small selection of ingredients.

“I just thought of the things I make at home — I didn’t want to get too technical,” says Keene. The recipes are adaptable too, he says, since different vegetables and combinations can be used for all three dishes.

Encouraging students to incorporate more fresh produce into their cooking is important, he says, but it can be new territory for a lot of them.

“A lot of people grow up thinking they don’t like vegetables, because they haven’t been cooked right,” says Keene, as he shares another nugget of wisdom: a little seasoning can go a long way, whether it’s a pinch of salt, a handful of parsley, or a splash of vinegar.

The first step is getting the ingredients, and while life experience can reveal some of the secrets of good shopping, a crash course can certainly help. Keene’s most important rule of thumb? “Don’t go shopping on an empty stomach,” he laughs.

Growing up, Gabrielle Brewer ’23 of New Britain, Conn., learned how to cook with her mother, a caterer. But after living alone during an internship last summer, she realized that grocery shopping was a whole new challenge. “I’d be shopping for one person, and then cook too much, and it would just get out of hand,” she said. Now, she’s thinking a lot about next year. “Having to live in an apartment and cook for myself, it’s always good to get a few tips.”

When it comes to shopping, Keene told the students that making a list — and sticking to it — can help keep you organized and on-budget. When it comes to putting produce on your list, it’s cheaper to buy in-season fruits and veggies. (The USDA .) Following the seasons also brings variety to the table, on top of being an opportunity to support local farmers. 

But buying more fresh food comes with other concerns. “Use-by” dates, the impending wilting of leafy greens, and meat freshness are all factors in the mix, and Keene suggests getting a little more picky, and making grocery trips a little more frequent, especially if something like fish is on the menu, which is best bought day-of or day before.

Other students — and a recently graduated alumnus — came to Keene’s demonstration hoping to glean some new recipe ideas.

Helena Raddock ’24 of Warren, Vt., says she’s “not a soup girl,” like some of her roommates, but the omelet and veggie pasta are good items to add to her repertoire. “I only know how to make spaghetti and meat sauce, and rice,” says Raddock. “So I think it’s time to up my game.”

Recent graduate Ben Conner ’22 is now on the staff of the Center for Purposeful Work, and he was eager to attend the demo after doing the promotions for the event. “I can cook the same staple meal every day,” he says. “But, making the same pasta, broccoli, and chicken, five days a week can get a little bit old.”

With a few new recipes in their back pockets, and a few tips on stocking and using a kitchen, those who attended are a little more ready to tackle the post-grad life. 

Here are some of the top tips and tricks he shared:

• A basic kitchen setup includes a few versatile non-stick pots and pans of different sizes, a , a paring knife, a vegetable peeler, a stick thermometer, and to prevent cross contamination.
• Your list should reflect specific meals you wish to make, which can help you identify the groceries you need. Having a plan means you can make sure you aren’t buying more of what you already have.
• Pay attention to the best-by and expiration dates, and make sure you are using up what you have before buying new ingredients.
• Be adventurous and try some new foods. The internet is your friend, so head to YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok for ideas. You might find a new favorite way to eat your veggies, or a different kind of sauce to go with your favorite noodle dish.

Taking his own advice to try new foods, Keene, as well as his Dining Services team, continue their culinary education. For example, they’ve learned about cuisines from South America and Africa while attending conferences sponsored by the famed Culinary Institute of America.

It’s a challenge, he says, “to cook a cuisine from a place you’ve never been to before.” But he’s not at a loss for feedback. Students come to �ֲ���ý from around the world, and they’re candid when it comes to reviewing international dishes.

“Sometimes they’re like, ‘Oh no, it isn’t like that at all.’ So I ask them to tell us how to do it the right way, and they’ll do that — we have students who will show us things that we didn’t know. And that’s a good thing: we should try different things.”

As new and returning �ֲ���ý students settle in to campus life, they find ways to make �ֲ���ý feel like the home away from home that it is.

They put up photos of family and friends in their residence, use a familiar laundry detergent, or seek comfort at Commons by munching a favorite childhood breakfast cereal.

If they can find it, that is. As the new academic year dawned, Cheryl Lacey, director of Dining Services, found it challenging to source several cereals.

But no need to panic. For one, Commons still has 32 options, including 24 in dispensers along the famed cereal wall. Second, the reigning student favorite, Lucky Charms, is still in stock. But Cracklin’ Oat Bran, Cookie Crisp, Kashi Heart to Heart, and even the runner-up favorite, Special K Red Berries, have been a little harder to source, says Lacey, who also had to secure a new vendor for milk.

“Those are going to be tough pills,” laughs Lacey. But she knows that for students, scarcity can be the mother of invention: She’s fully expecting new cereal ideas to pour forth.

Another supply-chain snag was revealed in a recent Napkin Board question: “Is the chili garlic sauce gone for good????” (The query warranted four question marks: Students need their sriracha!!!!)  A failed chili pepper harvest in northern Mexico is to blame for the shortage, explained Lacey via the online Napkin Board, signing the reply, “yours in pepper paucity.”

But the stress of supply chain issues wasn’t evident on a recent September day at lunch. The kitchen is the heart of the home, and Commons, �ֲ���ý’ beloved dining hall, is no exception. The chefs and staff serve more than 5,000 meals a day and the is the second-most popular �ֲ���ý web page.

The scene: diners picking up clean, warm plates; dodging each other’s precariously heaping trays; waiting in line to get a taco or a burger or whatever is the most popular menu item of the meal; and Commons staff hurrying in and out of the swinging doors, taking back empty pans and bringing out full ones.

Trends for 2022 include ever-increasing interest in vegan items, says Lacey, so Commons is adding an impossible chili, a vegan taco filling, and a chickenless patty sandwich to the vegan bar.

, Lacey and her team remain vigilant about effective labeling and preventing cross-contamination. This fall, Dining Services will label foods containing sesame, (after allergens like milk, peanuts, and wheat).

Dining Services isn’t only thinking about what students eat, though: They also consider where students eat, routinely adjusting options for seating, adding smaller tables here and there, including high-top tables for two upstairs in the mezzanine.

The high tops are popular with students seeking a study spot in Commons, so they’re placed close to outlets. “You can be by yourself, close to the outlets, so you can plug in,” Lacey explains.

One benefit to being in charge of a college dining hall is its proximity to the world of research and discovery, says Lacey, who, with Christine Schwartz, associate vice president for Dining, Conferences and Campus Events, welcomes students to use Commons as a site for academic fieldwork.

“Our staff gets really excited about participating in educational opportunities,” she says. “There’s such a big connection between food and science.” (It’s not always food and science: In 2015, a senior for her American cultural studies thesis; it’s been downloaded nearly 1,200 times since.)

Another year, a senior studied the efficacy of Dining Services’ vegetable wash. Another senior helped Dining Services decide whether to spend a lot of money on a new type of self-sanitizing food thermometer.

“It was in a little sleeve that you had to fill with sanitizer, and we wanted to know if it was worth the money to buy this thermometer,” says Lacey. Thanks to the senior’s work, Lacey learned that the standard thermometers, and how they were sanitized, worked just fine — and that meant money in the bank for �ֲ���ý.  

To raise awareness of good hygiene at the start of the cold and flu season, a student once did an exercise on hand washing. “They had a liquid that had little particles that could fluoresce,” recalls Lacey. “They asked students to put the liquid on their hands, then wash their hands as well as they could.”

Afterward, the students put their hands under a black light. “People were amazed: ‘Oh my God! Look how much is left!’”

Swabbing projects at Commons are perhaps the most common type of fieldwork. For example, it’s well known that bacteria are found on everyday door handles. Recently, after students swabbed and found bacteria on Commons exit doors, on Central Avenue, Lacey decided to move the hand sanitizers outside the doors, instead of just inside. “It made sense for people to sanitize after they left, rather than before they left,” she said. 

Condiment pump dispensers are designed to prevent food cross-contamination. But after another biology student captured microscopic evidence that food on a diner’s plate had come into contact with dispenser, Dining Services took action.

Now, Dining Services advises students that if they have any possible food allergies, they can use  ketchup packets. “And we made other condiment options available, so students don’t have to use the dispenser,” says Lacey. 

“We wouldn’t have known those things if it weren’t for our students,” says Lacey. “We love projects like that!”

“A party without a cake is a meeting,” said Julia Child, who received an honorary degree from �ֲ���ý in 1983.

When �ֲ���ý turned 166 years old at mid-month, the cake that helped to transform a mere gathering into a party was decorated by Daisy Taylor, baking supervisor for Dining Services, with a creative flourish that’s become a trademark of the �ֲ���ý dining operation.

This year, �ֲ���ý held its annual giving day, Great Day to Be a Bobcat, on �ֲ���ý’ birthday, March 16, the day in 1855 when the charter for the Maine State Seminary, forerunner of �ֲ���ý College, was signed into Maine law.

This year’s Great Day celebration, livestreamed between noon and 9 p.m. on the 16th, saw 2,664 alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends make gifts — shattering the goal of 1,855 donors — totaling $927,346.

And the cake? It was enjoyed by the entire Great Day livestream team when the birthday cat, the �ֲ���ý Bobcat, stopped by to help celebrate a happy and successful day with friends.

The show must go on, said Christine Schwartz, even if it’s more like theater in a box.

In late October, after �ֲ���ý saw a brief uptick in student COVID-19 cases, “we struggled whether to go ahead” with the annual Harvest Meal, says Schwartz, who oversees the college’s dining, events, and conferences operation.

“I mean, what do you do? What should we do?”

Since reopening in August under COVID-19 protocols, �ֲ���ý dining has operated as a take-out program. Gone are multi-hour, sit-down meals. Gone is mixing and matching myriad menu items to create one’s own showstopper (topped with sriracha, of course). Even the venerable Napkin Board is now entirely remote.

These days, when students walk into Commons, all the food that awaits them — entrees, sandwiches and wrap, snacks, condiments, and desserts — is either pre-packaged in single-serve boxes or served from steam trays by Dining Services staff working behind plexiglass windows. Only beverages are self-serve. Once the student has their food, out they go. 

The issue around Harvest Meal for Schwartz and her longtime colleague, Director of Dining Services Cheryl Lacey, wasn’t entirely about safety. Their operation already features physical distancing, universal masking, staff working behind plexiglass windows — unfortunately limiting interaction with students — no indoor dining, including no Bobcat Den, and extensive cleaning protocols. 

The challenge was existential: Could such a thing as a Harvest Meal exist as a take-out concept? Without all the trimmings (food and otherwise), like horse-and-carriage rides, ice sculptures, and other theme-inspired decorations?

“In the end, we decided we had to do it,” said Schwartz. “There has to be some sense of continuation of normalcy — whatever that normal is.” 

The burden in the end fell mostly on the menu (plus lots of inflatables around the theme “Life’s a Beach”) a range of familiar and comforting fare of a �ֲ���ý Harvest Meal, starting with roasted turkey. There was also beef brisket encrusted with brown sugar and chili; seafood chowder; roasted eggplant with artichokes and spinach; and green bean and tofu casserole, among other options.

This is just the most recent chapter in what for Schwartz and Lacey has been a massive effort to give �ֲ���ý’ 1,700 on-campus students a normal dining experience, unfolding against a backdrop of anything but normal as students made the transition from sit-down meals in Commons to grab-and-go dining, dubbed “Dash.” 

Along the way some interesting things have happened, giving rise to some concerns about post-pandemic dining.

For one, the staff has noticed that many students have compressed their three meals into two, “treating breakfast and lunch as one meal and dinner as another,” says Schwartz, “or treating dinner and the next day’s breakfast as one meal, and lunch as another.”

This doesn’t mean they’ve created some kind of delicate brunch. This is about loading up on take-out items at breakfast, then skipping lunch and returning for dinner. Or, loading up at dinner and skipping the next morning’s breakfast. The convenience of take-out food means they can stockpile snacks and even entire meals in their dorm rooms if they have fridges.  

“It’s an interesting trend,” Schwartz says, providing evidence that “skipping” meals does not mean eating less, according to what one might call the Nugget Index. “In the past, we would go through 42 cases of chicken nuggets” — that’s 420 pounds — “on days we serve them. Now when we serve chicken nuggets, we go through 56 cases.”

The so-called Nugget Index does more than indicate how much students eat; it also shows what they care about — and those things, whether large or seemingly small, are what Dining Services wants to help sustain, those “extremely important items of comfort food, whether entrees or condiments, that speak to what they love about Commons, from thin-crust pizza and hot vegan options to bagels, guacamole, salsa, and sriracha,” says Schwartz.

And chocolate milk. Students love chocolate milk. But this fall the college’s dairy provider stopped providing the product in large bags. So Dining Services put out chocolate syrup next to the milk. But there was an unexpected learning curve: Some students had never made chocolate milk from syrup, “so we had to put a recipe card” next to the syrup, says Schwartz. 

For students who are in isolation or quarantine due to COVID, �ֲ���ý has partnered with student-run delivery app Easy Eats to support meal delivery to students who aren’t able to come to Commons for meals. “We also hope this becomes a platform through which students with special dietary needs can communicate with our operation in a more robust way.” 

Efforts by Dining Services such as the Dash program have been a big part of the college’s successful effort to reopen and stay open. Still, Schwartz and Lacey look warily at how the convenience and success of the Dash program might affect their pandemic-free future. 

“I mean, it does scare us,” says Schwartz. “None of us have spent our careers to create and perfect a pass-by dining program. It’s not what we are designed to do and it’s not who we want to be.

“You need to have casual interactions” before an acquaintance becomes a friend. “That’s what Commons provides.”

“In the future, I think it’s going to be tough for us to get totally away from grab-and-go. It depends on how long the pandemic lasts. Right now, students’ memories of the communal experience and the relationships they can build in Commons are still pretty strong. If we can flip back in the next six months, we have a good chance of being able to do away with grab-and-go. If it runs much longer than that, to-go dining becomes a norm.”

At least anecdotally, students feel a strong need to go back to the old ways. Dining in Commons, they say, helps them navigate �ֲ���ý life, specifically how it helps students make new friendships.

“You need to have casual interactions” before an acquaintance becomes a friend, says Mei Kane ’23 of New York City. “That’s what Commons provides,” a chance to spend time in proximity with people you previously only knew by sight. “It’s especially helpful to meet seniors, since they often live off campus or in suites.” 

More than a meal place, “Commons is a social space for me,” says Ali Manning ’23 of Sydney, Australia. “I used to sit in Commons from 5 to 7 in the evening, just catching up with friends and relaxing after long days of classes and before starting our homework. It’s more than the food.”

The Dash program works well, she says, and “I deeply appreciate the work and effort that our dining staff puts into it. It’s not the same but I am sure that most students would say it’s a sacrifice we’re okay with making to stay safe and healthy.”

Maintaining a sustainable ethic has also been a challenge, since the Dash program relies on throwaway packaging (though as much packaging as possible is made from 100-percent recycled materials.)

Lacey knows there is a base of students, including EcoReps, who “lament that we are using so many disposables.” She hopes those same students, with support from Dining Services and the college’s Sustainability Office, will help a return to sustainable practices, post-pandemic.

“The most effective change that we see among students is often peer-led,” she says. “And I think we will have enough peers who will lead our students away from the disposable trend” when post-pandemic life arrives at �ֲ���ý. “I think we will get strong support from those students.”

Through a thankfully mild fall, the scenes of students eating outdoors here and there, on Alumni Walk, in the new Adirondack chairs, or on Garcelon Field, were idyllic. As cold weather takes hold, and outdoor dining becomes unlikely, Schwartz and her team are constrained by Maine occupancy limits for indoor gatherings, whether dining or not: 50 people per any given room.

“Everything this fall was more difficult than before, but you guys nailed it.”

“We could have up to 50 seats up in the mezzanine” of Commons, Schwartz explains, as the main dining room will still be used for physically distanced food service. “But other campus rooms large enough to accommodate 50 people are already being used for something equally important.”

But there’s no throwing in the towel for Schwartz and her team. “We will always look at ways to build community through dining. We will try to keep the memory alive of the magical experience of Commons for when, someday, we all can dine together again.”

And what about the years’ Harvest Meal? Students loved both the food and the effort, including umpteen inflatables around the theme, “Life’s a Beach.” Vanessa Paolella ’21, editor-in-chief of The �ֲ���ý Student, gave a public shoutout in her paper:

“Thank you to all of the Commons workers who have gone above and beyond to keep us fed this semester. Everything this fall was more difficult than before, but you guys nailed it.”

Every day Mathieu Moutou ’22 of Vacoas, Mauritius, makes trips to the Bobcat Den to pick up lunch and dinner, as well as something from a copious spread on the snack table Dining Services has set up for the students who have been living on campus during the COVID-19 crisis.

It’s all been timed so he doesn’t have to spend more than five minutes in the building. He orders online and then gets a notification that the food is ready for pickup. There’s no contact, but the staff are there.

And most days those quick exchanges with the people who are cooking and packing to go containers at the Den represent his only in-person interactions, other than with the students in his dorm (all at a safe social distance).

“They are so kind,” says Moutou, a double major in math and music. “I don’t even have to tell them my name anymore since they’ve come to know who I am. They know I eat a lot so sometimes they give me extras and leftovers.”

In September 2017, Kevin Michaud of Dining Services prepares a staple of Commons comfort food, grilled cheese sandwiches. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ���ý College)

It’s undeniably lonely for the approximately 80 students who petitioned to remain on campus for various reasons, including not being able to travel to their home countries and, for some seniors, thesis work that could not be done remotely.

They’re on campus, but one that’s mostly empty (since March 17, most �ֲ���ý faculty and staff have been working from home, except for essential personnel.)

Still, some things haven’t changed for students on campus. “�ֲ���ý people care. They reach out to me individually and are just like, ‘How are you doing?’” says Alexis Fifield ’21 of Guatemala City, Guatemala, who has also been in residence.

“How things are done and what is provided to us has changed, but that sense of ‘We’re here for you, and you’re here for us,’ that mutual feeling of ‘We want to do this together,’ hasn’t changed.”

Even if there are fewer of them, “what makes �ֲ���ý, �ֲ���ý, are the people,” says Moutou, who can’t return to his home in Mauritius. The Indian Ocean island nation near Madagascar, which has reported 332 COVID-19 cases total, shut down outside access in March. “My country closed its borders indefinitely,” Moutou says. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“The eggamuffin. They were so excited about that.”

No wonder familiar foods from �ֲ���ý Dining Services are what he and others crave. “What we have found is that it’s all about the comfort food,” says Christine Schwartz, assistant vice president for dining, conferences, and campus events.

When students place their orders online, they are very specific about their cravings. “They ask, can we include their favorite dishes, like General Tso’s chicken and the taco bar. They like chimichanga and lemon chicken.” An English muffin with egg was a big hit, Schwartz says. “The eggamuffin. They were so excited about that.”

When Schwartz and Cheryl Lacey, director of dining services, started planning for ways to feed the �ֲ���ý students who would remain on campus, they understood that they’d have to supply comfort on multiple levels.

As Moutou points out, the students see their professors on Zoom and such, but the dining staff are their main in-person contact — albeit from a safe social distance — with the world outside their dorm. “Besides Security, we are probably going to be the only people they are going to see on campus,” Schwartz says.

“I like just taking time to sit out here and get some fresh air,” says Alexis Fifield ’21 of Guatemala City, Guatemala, as she finishes dinner, including some Dining Services comfort food: french fries. What hasn’t changed for students on campus is the sense that “�ֲ���ý people care,” she says. (Jay Burns/�ֲ���ý College)

“It was a quick turn for us,” she adds. “We were retooling almost hourly to get there while we were maintaining the health and wellness of our own staff.”

They decided deliberately to provide food in two venues, to give students two distinct places to visit, breaking up their days. A continental breakfast is available at Commons and grab-and-go lunches and dinners are prepared and distributed at the Den.

The Dining Services staff working these areas “really connect with the students,” Schwartz said. That includes recognizing who eats what and who is going to be super sad if there are no Oreos on the snack table (actually, two 8-foot tables together). Which turned out to be most of the remaining students, as it turns out. “I tried to get some Lorna Doones and Nutter Butters and some Milanos and they are like, ‘Where are my Oreos?’” Schwartz says.

The staff has also been helping students process as they face a strange situation on campus while also preparing for final exams (going on now through May 2) and trying to stay healthy. Maybe they’ve wanted to complain about coursework, or what they missed, or just how weird all this was.

More comfort food: See the deliciousness of a �ֲ���ý Bobcat sandwich as it is assembled by Dining Services executive chef Owen Keene. Video by Theophil Syslo.

That definitely happened at first, Schwartz says. But by mid-April, the talk about the weirdness had diminished. The team reached its stride and shifted to an online ordering system to shorten students’ wait times inside the Den. “It has sort of taken on a rhythm of its own.”

The constant has been comfort food, fitting for what has been a chilly spring in Maine, including a 6-inch snowfall on April 10. (On one notably warm, sunny day on campus, the staff saw a sudden increase in requests for sliced fruit and salads, typical for good weather, Schwartz says.)

For the most part, Schwartz says, the remaining students on campus want the classics. There’s the student who ordered chicken nuggets so often that Schwartz wondered if it might be time for a gentle nudge about other food groups.

They want Chicken Patty Satty (“Chicken Patty Saturday,” that is). The taco bar has been established, with takeaway containers of salsa and other add-ons. And they really, really want General Tso’s chicken. (See recipe, in case you too are having a craving.)

Not Moutou. He’s been craving chicken with scallions — although “my favorite snack is, by far, the frozen mac and cheese,” he says. Schwartz confirms that this is one of the most popular snacks to go. When Moutou takes it back to the dorm, it’s just a frozen block of pasta and sauce — but it becomes “a culinary delight ready in four minutes in the microwave.”

BATES GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN

Serves: 6
Start to finish: 1 hour (30 minutes active time)

The �ֲ���ý Dining Services version of General Tso’s chicken uses boneless, breaded chicken wings, deep fried, but this “Close to Commons” recipe can be adapted for whatever breaded chicken you have on hand, including frozen chicken tenders that can be cooked on a sheet pan in the oven.

If you’re ambitious and want to make your own fried chicken to start, use a counter-top deep-fat fryer, an air fryer, or fry on the stovetop in a pan deep enough to hold the amount of vegetable oil needed to fry the chicken. (Our only rule is to make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.)

You can use the time the chicken is warming or cooking to prep the rest of the ingredients, including blanching the broccoli and carrots and making the sauce. Amounts for the broccoli and carrots are suggested; make more if you want more emphasis on the vegetables.

Serve over rice to soak up the sauce.

1 to 2 pounds boneless breaded chicken wings or tenders depending on how much protein you’d like

Vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 teaspoon ginger, minced (or pureed if available)

1 tablespoon white wine

1/2 cup vegetable stock

2 1/2 teaspoons soy or tamari sauce

1 tablespoon white vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon corn syrup

2 1/2 teaspoons of teriyaki sauce

1/8 teaspoon of red pepper (about 2 pinches) or more to taste

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/2 tablespoons water

1/2 cup broccoli (�ֲ���ý uses florets)

1/4 cup of fresh carrots, matchstick-cut

Put the chicken in the oven, using instructions on the package or, if you’re frying, into the hot oil.

Cut the carrots into matchsticks and the broccoli into florets. Boil water in a medium-sized pot and when it is at a rolling boil, drop the vegetables in for one minute. After one minute, drain and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.

Alternatively, you can plunge them into an ice-water bath. The goal is to keep the vegetables a little crisp. Set aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, warm 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and stir-fry the garlic and ginger for a minute. Add wine and let it cook off for about a minute.

Add the vegetable stock (chicken will do if you don’t have vegetable stock or bouillon on hand), soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, corn syrup, teriyaki sauce and crushed red pepper to the pan. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry. When it’s creamy and mixed, add to the boiling sauce. Stir constantly as it thickens.

Taste to check the seasonings and adjust accordingly. If you like spice, you might want more red pepper at this point.

Pour over the cooked chicken and toss to coat, then garnish with the blanched vegetables. At �ֲ���ý, it’s served over rice.

A quick lunchtime survey in Commons reveals the following opinions about a perennial comfort-food favorite among students, the �ֲ���ý Bobcat sandwich.

“It tastes like I’m at a deli.”

“It tastes like home.”

“It embodies �ֲ���ý values.”

“It reminds me of comfort.”

“It exceeds expectations.”

See the deliciousness of a �ֲ���ý Bobcat sandwich as it’s assembled by Dining Services executive chef Owen Keene. Video by Theophil Syslo.

The Bobcat has been a lunchtime mainstay for more than a decade, ever since the current Commons — and its signature brick oven — opened in 2008.

Want to make your own? Here you go:

�ֲ���ý Bobcat Sandwich

Serves: One hungry Bobcat

4 ounces shaved ham (or 4 slices)
2 slices deli pepperoni
2 slices salami
1 slice provolone (or more if you’re feeling cheesy)
1 slice American cheese (same!)
Finely chopped Spanish onion
Finely chopped green pepper
Crinkle-chip dill pickles
8-inch sub roll

Heat oven to 350 F.  Slice sub roll in half. Layer one side of roll with chopped green pepper and chopped onion, then layer ham, pepperoni, American cheese, salami, pickles, and provolone. Place layered side on cooking pan. Heat 4 to 5 minutes. Top with top half and heat 2 to 3 minutes until warm. Serve with condiment of choice.

From left, Robert Sobolewski ’22 of Chevy Chase, Md., Nick Van Ingen ’23 of Darien Conn., and William Bolin ’23 of Monkton, Md., tuck into their Bobcat sandwiches in Commons. (Theophil Syslo/�ֲ���ý College)

It’s 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Commons, and your senses are on high alert as Dining Services prepares the evening meal.

There’s the smell of baked goods. The sting in your eyes from freshly diced onions. The flicker of flame inside the brick oven. And all around, quick conversations as staff glide past one another.

Before you realize it, an hour has passed, the doors open, the students flood in.

Dinner, and your taste buds, are now served.

Students patiently wait in line at the grill to dig into General Tso's chicken and rice.

A room with a view: Commons seen from Central Avenue.

Dining Services diverts more than 80 percent of its waste to composting, local pig farmers, and recycling, a major reason �ֲ���ý has a Gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.

First cook Tim Reynolds and third cook Jake Morse pose for a portrait before slinging pies at the brick oven.

Sous chef Michael Staffenski peels an onion as he works through an entire bushel, all without shedding a tear.

“Food is nourishment. It makes you whole,” says Michael Staffenski, Dining Services sous chef.

The “whole” in this sense also means the whole �ֲ���ý community, which comes together in the college’s single dining hall.

“The students live here, so this is their home, this is their kitchen,” Staffenski continues. “It’s our mission to provide all the things that their kitchen at home does, whether it’s an ear to listen or the comfort of warm soup when you’re not feeling well. It’s support: a little bit of everything.”

And there’s fun in the kitchen, too, For Daisy Taylor, bakery supervisor, the fun comes “when I get to be adventurous.”

Sure, she and her colleagues turn out the beloved cookies and muffins. “That’s pretty cookie-cutter,” she says, pun intended. But when a catering order comes in, “I get to put my own little spin on things. I definitely like that, and I think people appreciate what we put out. It’s a good feeling.”

Ricky Michalak, a Dining Services first cook, was handling the vegan station Tuesday night. One approach he uses is to “take meals that I like personally and see how I can make them vegan.“

One of his favorite creations is the Thai lettuce wrap made with fried tempeh. “They’re really sweet, really good. Even non-adventurous eaters will love it.”

And he doesn’t mind if students, famous for their ad hoc creations, don’t use the wrap as a wrap, “instead sprinkling it on their own salad or doing whatever with it. It all works out very well.

“It’s a busy station. Fun and challenging,” he adds. “I feel like everyone should be challenged at whatever they do.”