University Dining Operations Director recognized as 'College Foodservice Hero'
The aroma of smoked ribs and barbecued chicken wafted in the warm, early evening air outside Fox Hall on East Campus, serving as a better advertisement for University Dining’s weekly “Street Eats” event than any social media post ever could.
On the terrace of the university’s largest residence hall, masked students lined up for to-go containers of mouth-watering barbecue with sides of coleslaw, mac and cheese and cornbread. Many students grabbed a seat at an outdoor table and enjoyed an al fresco dinner with friends on a perfect fall evening.
For the roughly 1,100 students who lived on campus this past academic year, many aspects of the dining experience were different because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meals were served exclusively at Fox Dining Commons, where social distancing and sanitizing protocols were closely followed. Students also could order to-go meals from Rowdy’s (located on the first floor of Fox Hall) through the GrubHub app, using their meal plan.
“I was very grateful for the students,” says Jirair Derkrikorian, operations director for University Dining, which is managed by Aramark. “They followed all the policies — wearing masks, sitting six at a table, max — and bought into the program, which made it easy for us.”
To make meals more enjoyable for students, University Dining constantly served up special menu items such as lobster flatbread and quinoa power bowls. They also held events such as the Street Eats nights outside Fox (complete with music and giveaways), and an “Executive Chef Series” featuring dinners of Tuscan braised beef with creamy garlic mascarpone potatoes, or buttered shrimp with parmesan risotto. There was even a “Recipe from Home” night, with a tomato, sausage and spinach pasta dish submitted online by a student’s mom.
“We really wanted to make it special for the students,” says Derkrikorian, who was recently recognized by the industry website Food Management as one of 48 “College Foodservice Heroes” who “made a difference” over the past year.
“Jirair's dedication to the guest experience, operational safety and employee well-being has shown,” says University Dining Marketing Manager Rachel DiGregorio, who nominated Derkrikorian for the honor. “He has built a dining team that is engaged and equally as committed to safety, teamwork and guest service as he is.”
And students noticed.
Stephanie Garcia, a graduate student in higher education administration from Dartmouth, Massachusetts, lived on campus this year and was on a meal plan. She and her suitemate went to almost every Street Eats cookout in the fall, and Garcia kept an eye on University Dining’s Instagram feed and online menu for favorites such as chicken parmesan and lobster mac and cheese.
“As a new student to the university, I felt welcomed and comfortable in the dining hall. The staff was exceptional — and very attentive to the safety of students,” she says. “And I loved eating with other students, even if it was 6 feet away at another table.”
When students are finished eating, they remove a card from the table which indicates that it needs to be sanitized by a University Dining staff member.
Garcia also enjoyed the convenience of ordering to-go meals from Rowdy’s on GrubHub — something she hopes can continue post-pandemic.
“The pickup was contactless. All I had to do was find my name and order number on the shelf,” she says. “It’s a helpful system for a student’s busy schedule.”
Previously general manager of the UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center, Derkrikorian became operations director for University Dining in January 2020 — two months before the pandemic hit. Suddenly, his job went from serving 11,000 meals a day to feeding the 300 or so students who remained on campus last spring. The dining staff of more than 500 was reduced to about 50.
“We had to scale back tremendously,” he says, adding that the staff was up to 130 this spring. “As the number of students on campus grows, we grow as well.”
Derkrikorian credits the work of the entire University Dining staff — “The team on the ground did a phenomenal job, day in and day out” — and also the collaboration with Residence Life, Health Services, Emergency Management and Hospitality and Event Services.
“It was a crucial team effort,” says Derkrikorian, whose team worked with Residence Life to deliver meals to students in quarantine and self-isolation.
The plan for this summer, he says, is to re-open Crossroads Cafe at University Crossing, and then slowly re-open other dining locations around campus as needed for the fall.
“We want everybody back. It was sad to see everyone go away when COVID happened,” he says. “We want to make it special again for students coming back. We set the bar high, and we want it even higher next semester.”