From Halloween to Thanksgiving break, the deli in Upper Farinon hosted multiple build-your-own food rotations. The rotation occurred only from Monday through Friday with the traditional deli food items being offered on the weekends.
The first week consisted of poke bowls, the second week offered noodle bowls and the third week was an avocado toast bar. The final rotation offered a variety of Mediterranean foods and dips for students.
The stations, which were a way to pilot new ideas and recipes, were created and implemented at Upper Farinon due to student feedback.
General manager of Bon Appetit at Lafayette, Christopher Brown, wrote in an email that students and faculty have been receptive and excited about the new changes.
“So far they have been a hit and are garnering lots of positive feedback,” Brown wrote.
Ali Sultan’ 23 said that many students are enjoying the new food options and he hopes to see more changes in Upper before he graduates.
“It is definitely something I would want Upper to do more in the future,” Sultan said. “I can’t speak for everyone but I know that my close friends have been generally dissatisfied with the variety and quality of routine food at Upper. Having these weekly rotating stations with different food options has been a nice change. The long lines at the station at prime dinner and lunch times speak volumes about how much students appreciate this.”
The poke bowl station was many students’ favorite addition to the Upper menu. Many cited the variety of seasonings and toppings offered.
“The poke bowl was really cool,” Charlize Cramer ’24 said. “I liked how we could customize them just like how the deli station usually is. I definitely enjoyed switching things up. I hope I get to try some other options from Upper soon.”
Despite some students’ enthusiasm, others missed the traditional deli.
“I tried both the poke bowls as well as the noodle bowls and I thought they were really good,” Grace Comfort ’25 said. “I appreciate the effort. I would say maybe do a little bit of both. I do miss my custom sandwiches.”
The dining hall staff hopes to use the feedback from the pilot program to possibly introduce new changes at Upper Farinon in the future.
“We will collect the data and student feedback [and] potentially run a few more station options and quite possibly land on a new concept for dining,” Brown wrote.
