RPS will serve Thanksgiving dinners

Students won’t have to wait until returning home to enjoy a holiday feast and traditional Thanksgiving foods.

Beginning today, Residential Programs and Services dining halls will provide special Thanksgiving menus.

The first will take place today at Wright Food Court from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Landes Dining Room at Read will serve their holiday meal from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday

Rachel Noirot, RPS registered dietitian, said holiday menus give chefs a chance to highlight items not served during the year.

“It’s a nice way for the students to have a nice sit down meal,” she said. “It’s kind of nice for students to see chefs and who they are.”

Wright Food Court General Manager Mark Winstead said their Thanksgiving dinner is set up buffet-style, with one line of food open from 11:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and two lines open until 8 p.m.

The meal costs $12.99 for people without a meal plan, $9.74 with a crimson meal plan and $5.20 with a cream plan. Students can choose an entrée, three sides, bread and butter, a relish, a dessert, a cup of hot apple cider and an \additional beverage.

At Read’s dinner, a similar buffet will be offered for $9.35 or $3.74 with a meal plan.  

Winstead said Wright serves a special dinner once each month. In September, they had a fall barbecue, and in October, they had a Halloween-themed dinner.

“It’s an opportunity for us to give something special for our customers,”
Winstead said.

He said last year, Wright’s Thanksgiving dinner served about 1,400 students. This year, he and his staff predict feeding about 1,500 customers.

The buffet features a carving station with both turkey and roast beef served by chef Darren Worth.

Worth said finding popular Thanksgiving foods is sometimes a challenge, especially with high prices., but he said he can usually get his boss to order what he needs.

“It can be difficult to keep costs low for students,” Worth said. “But I tell him what I want and he finds it for me.”

Worth said preparing the dinner is a team effort, as chefs from other dining halls join him in setting up, decorating, serving and cleaning. Putting everything together takes a lot of hard work, he said, but seeing the satisfied students keeps him going.

“If they really enjoy the special dinners, that’s enough for me,” he said.

Freshman Keri Chapman, a Wright resident, said providing Thanksgiving dinner for students before they return home for break is a good idea.

“This is our home,” she said. “So a big holiday meal will make you feel more at home.”
Chapman also said she likes the idea because it adds variety to students’ dining experiences on campus.

“You get different food from what you’re used to,” she said.

Sophomore Chelsey Johnson said another advantage to on-campus holiday dinners is the fact that students who can’t go home for break will have the chance to eat a festive meal.

Although she no longer lives on campus, Johnson said she would enjoy attending a Thanksgiving dinner.

“I like eating on campus, so I’d probably go,” Johnson said.