Over the past two years, the Dalton cafeteria has undergone radical change. Food quality and student satisfaction have skyrocketed. More and more, kids are staying in for lunch every day, instead of going out for food because they find the day’s offerings disgusting. How did such a change occur? What is the cafeteria doing differently? The Daltonian spoke with Walter Lyczkowski, head of Food Service and FLIK’s contact at Dalton, as well as with several students, to gain perspectives from both sides of the counter.

FLIK is a large food-service and catering company that provides solutions for hospitals, companies, venues, and non-profit organizations like Dalton. FLIK serves Dalton through its “FLIK Independent Schools by Chartwells” arm. Asked how FLIK distinguishes itself from competitors in the food service industry, Lyczkowski responded that “We prepare as much food as is practical from scratch. Your menus are custom designed in response to our client's request. We don't use institutionalized recipes that 1000 other cooks use. We are constantly seeking new, healthier sources of food for the population we feed. Our Turkey and Roast Beef are cooked on the premises, and all of our salads are made here as well. We like to explore with your taste buds.”

Operating in Dalton versus at a for-profit corporation seems to have some benefits; Lyczkowski explained that “Corporate settings are usually P&L or profit and loss. Dalton School is not a cash operation, and students may eat as much as they want. Additionally, we are able to offer menu items that would not appear on P&L menu, such as natural, grain fed beef, organic produce and exotic grains such as kamut and red quinoa.”

Working a school environment, full of finicky teenagers, towards accepting items such as kamut and red quinoa has taken some work. Over the last two years, the cafeteria, according to Lyczkowski, has taken major steps to move away from many of the fast foods that are available in the big franchises, with an emphasis on whole grains and lower fat cookery to provide students and faculty with the healthiest possible and largest variety of choices when they eat at the cafeteria. Allergy concerns of each student are taken into account; Lyczkowski commented that “We offer foods that are gluten-free, we are allergen aware. None of our recipes contain nuts.”

Fostering a love for healthy eating has also been a major undertaking over the last two years. Lyczkowski demonstrated how healthy alternatives have made their way into every aspect of the food we eat on a daily basis in the cafeteria, saying, “Our creamy dressings are made here in the kitchen with silken tofu rather than dairy products to provide a richness that is full of protein rather than fat. Our salad bar features whole grain cereals made daily. We offer six varieties of hand fruit, and prepare over 50 lbs of fresh fruit salad daily. We are about to switch over to juice drinks that are 100% fruit juice with no added sugar within the next two weeks. We offer Dannon Lowfat Yogurt as well as Stonyfield Organic Yogurt. Our breads are from Eli's, Tom Cat or H&H, three of the best bakeries in New York City, and are often whole grain or multi-grain. Our Milk is bgh (Bovine Growth Hormone) free and we offer a .5 micron filtered water fro Aquahealth that tastes better than Poland Springs and comes in low calorie flavors including Green Tea. We use olive oil or canola oil that contain no trans-fats, use soup bases that are low in sodium and have no MSG. Most of our herbs are fresh and organic, not dried. Our new Char-broiler has changed the look and taste of many dishes that we present.”

Connecting with the aspiring chefs at Dalton, Lyczkowski noted that, “We have Panini machines available at the salad bar for creative sandwich makers in the High School.” Sean Kilachand, noted sandwich connoisseur, commented that “The panini machine and I have a long and loving relationship.” In many ways, it seems, the improved cafeteria is reconnecting with the student body.

Addressing community concerns over cleanliness in the cafeteria, the level of trash and waste the cafeteria produced, and its environmental impact in general, Lyzckowski responded, saying that, “All of our managers and chefs are HACCP (food safety) trained and take a refresher course every three years. All managers and chefs have also completed an on line nutrition course. We are members of the Slow Food Movement. We will be using totally biodegradable plates, cups and bowls by November whenever and wherever we use paper. Our napkins are 100% recycled materials. All of our cleaning products will contain only natural ingredients by year's end. We are currently sourcing and plan on using exclusively All Natural and antibiotic free meats. Our featured fresh fish are now only species that are not endangered and are deemed renewable by conservative fishing practices. Our new kitchen disposer allows us to produce only 20% of the garbage we used to put curbside last year, while our new ventilating system (which we are still working the bugs out) uses far less energy to ventilate and cool the kitchen than before.”

What should Dalton look forward to in the near future? “Our breads will include organic varieties including baguettes within the next 90 days. We will be offering food made to order at our new "action stations" within the coming weeks.”

Student response to food changes has been overwhelmingly positive; Seniors Corey Benson and Sylvie Curci lauded the food’s improvement, Benson observing that “The food is ill.” Ayame Suzuki noted that, “In terms of food, we are going in a great direction. With the organic foods, I think its good because when the younger kids and even kids in high school see that its easy and amazing to eat organic, they may bring that lifestyle home.” However, space and time issues are still major sticking points with high school students; Jeffrey Weinstein fumed that, “The cafeteria has a shiny new facade, but it still has the same traffic and space issues as always.” Curci agreed, saying “It’s just that you can’t get to anything without being run over by rude younger students trying to get everything in time. The lines are always so long.” Suzuki continued that, “While the more environmentally efficient cleaning system is really great, I think that Dalton should get glass cups so that we can stop wasting that plastic. Also, the layout of the cafeteria is kind of bad because the new cleaning system takes a large chunk out of the lounge. The cafeteria really does not need to take over the entire third floor.”

Lyczkowski welcomes student input on all aspects of how the cafeteria is run; he notes that while faculty have already been putting in for changes, he would like to add that “We would love to hear [the students’] voice both individually and as a group.” He further encourages all, as changes are made, to “sample something new every day.”