Fox Lodge Wins a 2023 NACUFS Award 

We are excited to share that Rollins College is the recipient of another NACUFS Loyal E. Horton Dining Award, the premier awards competition for collegiate food services. This year the school received the Bronze award for the Lakeside Fox Lodge in the category of Retail Sales—Single Concept/Multiple Concepts/Marketplace. Rollins was recognized alongside a selection of elite schools including Cornell, Yale, Duke, and Penn State. 

2023 marks Rollins’ third NACUFS award in a row. Prior accolades were given for its Online Catering Menu (2022, Gold) and Residential Dining Facility for Small Institutions (2021, Silver). We are extremely proud to be honored for the world-class food service Rollins provides its students and faculty/staff. 

Rollins Opens a New Asian Restaurant in Dave’s Boathouse 

A recent survey of Tars’ culinary preferences revealed that an on-campus Asian eatery is a must-have. Dave’s Boathouse offered the best layout for a high-traffic dine-in experience, so an all-new menu has been designed around the most tantalizing dishes from Asia. Fan favorites like rice bowls and noodles will feature both classic and fusion flavors as well as mouthwatering options to customize each meal. Healthy, fast, and satisfying, many Asian dishes are also naturally allergen-friendly without sacrificing flavor. 

So, what happened to the old Boathouse menu? A brand-new station in The Marketplace has been installed next to the Deli that will serve exclusively kosher and halal foods, allowing students with those dietary requirements to eat alongside their peers with a simple swipe. Its new proximity to the rest of the Marketplace stations also means that non-kosher/halal students may frequent it and expand their understanding of new cultures, a core component of the liberal arts ethos. 

First opened in 2015 and beloved for its classic nautical theme and cozy indoor/outdoor dining, Dave’s Boathouse has become an essential part of the Rollins experience. As the student body continues to grow, the new addition will become a vital part of the strategy to manage capacity at each of the campus dining locations. The new eatery will be open seven days a week from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. 

Allergens Eliminated at Simple Servings

The Simple Servings station in The Marketplace was awarded with gold-level status, the highest possible rating for food allergen solutions. Simple Servings serves hot meals prepared without eight of the nine most common allergens, which account for 90% of all food allergic reactions. Recipes exclude milk, eggs, wheat, soy, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, and sesame, and also omit gluten. A dedicated kitchen space with its own ingredients, equipment, and smallwares reduces the risk of contamination while allowing students to enjoy allergen-free meals in the Marketplace alongside their peers. In addition, a registered dietician is on-call to answer any questions. The comprehensive audit gave Rollins a score of 141 out of a possible 142 criteria points. 

Dining Services #1 in Service Excellence 

In the latest Rollins College Service Excellence Survey, Tars ranked Dining Services and Catering the top performers in service excellence across campus. Survey recipients were asked to score campus organizations in the areas of responsiveness, respectfulness, collaboration, competence, and inclusivity, where Dining Services scored a cumulative 5.4 out of 6. When asked if Dining Services delivers service excellence, 83% agreed or strongly agreed. 

Dining Services Adds Two New Executive Chefs 

We are pleased to expand the culinary management team with two new additions: Catering Executive Chef Romel Alvar and Marketplace Executive Chef Lyubov Varlova! Romel comes to us from Chicago where he worked as an Executive Chef for Sodexo Catering. A native of Bulgaria, Lyubov’s more recent experience led her across Florida as Chef and Executive Chef for Crown Plaza, Gaylord Hotels, and Waldorf Astoria Resorts. Please say hi when you see them across campus!

Cooking on a college budget

Dining Services recently partnered with the Office of Residential Life & Explorations to teach students how to cook in their own rooms within a budget. Over 50 students attended the event and got a chance to practice how to make arepas, an easy recipe that takes very few ingredients and time to complete. We tied this event to the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, which got a lot of Hispanic and non-Hispanic students interested in this delicious and easy to make Venezuelan dish. All ingredients are available at Rollins' convenience store, where students can pay with their dining dollars or TarBUC$. To access the complete recipe, just click on this link: Arepas.