New faces add flavor to Davenport
Campus Times
September 24, 1999
"Out with the old, in with new," is the attitude in Davenport
Dining Hall these days, according to new Head Chef Mary Elizabeth Anderson.
Anderson discusses preparations for last week's barbecue dinner in the quad
with the new Director of Dining Services, Brett Roth. She replaced Frank
Crescenzo, and Roth replaces Armen Ananian, who left the University of La
Verne to pursue another dining services position at the Claremont Colleges.
There is new taste in the lives of University of La Verne's students
who eat at Davenport Dining Hall. Two new faces are trying to make students'
college experience a bit more enjoyable.
Brett Roth, director of Dining Services, and Mary Elizabeth Anderson,
executive chef, are in charge of providing students with what they need
and want.
However, Anderson said their main objective is to improve service quality
which many said, has lacked in the past.
"We are striving for consistency," said Anderson. "For
any service business success you have to have consistency.
"We want to emphasize the focus on quality," Roth said.
"Students need to know and need to have the security that they
can come here and have a good, healthy meal and not worry about the quality,"
said Anderson.
"We have to make food good. We have to make it taste good-make
it look good and nutritional at the same time," Anderson said. "And
yes, I'll still cook french fries and chicken nuggets. I'll work hard in
reducing fats and sugars and give alternatives."
Alternatives are what students want to see.
"We need more variety on the food. We don't want to eat the same
thing twice a week," said junior Georgina Negrete.
Anderson, a ULV alumna, comes back to La Verne after 12 years of gaining
valuable experience in the food service industry.
"I really love cooking," she said. "I belong in the kitchen.
I've been raised in the kitchen. I find that I'm always most comfortable
in the kitchen."
Anderson graduated from ULV in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in fine
arts.
She then continued her education at the New England Culinary Institute
(NECI) in Vermont, where she received her associate's degree in culinary
arts in 1992, followed by another bachelor's in food service management
in 1996.
Anderson has held a variety of positions within the industry. Her experiences
include being a cook at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, being a pastry cook
at the Ritz Carlton-Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, and being store manager
at Pasqua Coffee Bar in San Francisco, as well as owning My Chef, a personal
chef service.
"I'm real comfortable with her talents. She has nice hands-on skills,"
said Roth. "She has real positive energy an attitude. She does some
real nice jobs in the kitchen."
However, working in the kitchen is not Anderson's only responsibility.
She is also in charge of menu planning, catering, ordering, purchasing,
inventory, product rotation and sanitation.
"We have to keep up to the level of expectation in accordance to
Aramark's rules, La Verne's rules and, most specially, the Department of
Health," she said.
"We are here because of the students. If we aren't pleasing them,
then it all falls apart."
That is the attitude Anderson brings back to La Verne, an attitude of
satisfying her customers. "Absolutely, the number one customer is the
student," she said.
Both Roth and Anderson say they know the importance of listening to
what students have to say about the service they receive.
"It is important that we always maintain an open door, an open
ear, because we want to accommodate to everybody's needs as best as we can,"
Anderson said.
Roth said he wants to make sure students know they [food services] are
"receptive and open to change."
"Right now, we're working on new menu development," he said.
"We are upgrading the order entrées system, computerizing things."
Roth's work experience goes back to the late 1960s. He owned a restaurant
in the bay area and worked at college campuses including the University
of Southern Colorado, Stanford and California State University, Los Angeles.
After traveling from place to place, Roth said that he decided to join
his family in Claremont.
He said that one of the main reasons he decided to take the job at ULV
is because of the school's size.
"Students' voices are more likely heard here than at a much bigger
school," he said. "For what tuition cost these days, it's nice
to have your voice heard."
Roth's functions at ULV are really simple: "oversee the whole operation,"
he said. "Everything reports to me, catering, dining hall, The Spot,
vending."
"Brett is the mastermind behind the whole presentation," said
Anderson. "Both of us have the same basic philosophy; you never run
out of food, you open on time and it's good-tasting and good-looking food.
That's pretty basic stuff and what we are striving for."
"He has tried to satisfy all the needs to improve," said Santos.
Roth reiterates that interaction with students is an important tool
to accomplish his goals.
"If you have a comment, negative or positive, come and see me,"
he said. "Communicate with me in some way, shape or form."
Negrete said, "Something that I really like is that they have a
board where you can post your comments and they actually respond to the
comments."
Other students have already submitted their suggestions.
"I asked them to include carne asada to their options," said
sophomore Ralph Solis.
In the meantime, Roth, Anderson and the remainder of the staff are working
toward a constant improvement in the service they provide to members of
the ULV community.
"We all live together pretty much, so we have to take care of each
other," Roth said.
