letter
Every day, I find a new reason to be proud of our people and the inclusive, caring culture we are building at Chartwells Higher Education. This month I was inspired by all the ways our associates show their appreciation for each other, our female trailblazers and our dietitians.
March marks several important celebrations — Women’s History Month, National Nutrition Month, Associate Appreciation Day and more. Our associates truly live our culture of kindness: they recognized their female chef leads in showcases, made cards for Associate Appreciation Day, and worked toward creating “kinder kitchens.”
Celebrations like Women’s History Month are essential to building a kind, diverse culture. By uplifting each associate’s unique experiences, we build spaces where everyone is welcome.
Although there is much progress to be made before we reach a truly equitable world, I’m proud to work on making change happen in our own backyard.
2 Letter from the CEO
3 Celebrating our Heroes
4 Fueling Your Heart and Mind
6 Honoring Women’s History Month
8 New Openings
9 Salty Tom’s
Impressive Chefs at the 2023 Women in Culinary Showcase: Tatiana Ortiz from NYU and Maja Gajic from the University of Texas at Arlington.
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David You, the CEO of student-run restaurant Capital Grains and senior at Carnegie Mellon University, was recently named one of the top 100 Best & Brightest Business Majors by Poets&Quants. You was recognized for his outstanding business sense and entrepreneurship in kickstarting a student-run restaurant, Capital Grains, which serves grain bowls and salads. We’re proud to be part of David You’s success story, and our team would like to take a moment to congratulate him!
On National Associate Appreciation Day, we recognized and thanked all our hardworking associates. Our teams do more than serve thoughtfully crafted food—they also make our dining locations
a home away from home for our students. Their kindness, devotion and passion keep us at the forefront of the industry and make a difference for students, even years after graduation.
At the University of North Alabama, the Kappa Gamma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha celebrated our wonderful Catering Director, Ms. Denise Seagraves. Ms. Seagraves received the Humanitarian Award as a student favorite on campus for more than 30 years. All the students know about her dedication to community service and her catering talent.
SUNY Plattsburgh
Trudy from SUNY Plattsburgh reminds us how important it is to be kind. Trudy, who is 89, makes a point to connect with our international students. Trudy recently received a note from a student who is back home in Germany and shared how she will never forget Trudy’s kindness.
Oklahoma City University
Recently, the Oklahoma City University Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion awarded Yolanda Chukwu with the Influential Woman Award. This award was chosen based off a student submission who wrote a wonderful testament to the type of person Yolanda is - this special team member is known for her kind heart and putting smiles on the faces of students and associates alike.
To learn more about omega-3s and celebrate National Nutrition Month, we sat down for an in-depth interview with Taylor Guskind, our registered dietitian at American University. Hear what she has to say about the latest seafood trends and the benefits of omega-3s.
Tinned seafood is trending, and for good reason. It is a simple, shelf-stable way to increase omega-3 fatty acids in your diet.
Seafood in itself provides omega-3s in the form of EPA and DHA, which are essential, meaning the body cannot make them. So, we need to eat foods that have them!
Shellfish, like fresh mussels, aren’t the easiest to prepare, so going with the tinned version cuts down on cooking time while packing a ton of protein and micronutrients like zinc and iron. Zinc supports cell function and iron plays a role in oxygen transport through the blood.
Canned seafood allows individuals to enjoy the delicious flavors and nutrients without the price that comes with fresh seafood.
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We know that seafood provides benefits to heart health, but there is emerging evidence of potential brain-boosting benefits.
Consuming omega-3 fatty acids, like in some tinned seafood, is especially critical during pregnancy and early childhood for brain and eye development. These fatty acids keep our brains running efficiently by protecting cell membranes and reducing inflammation.
Our Tabling Event Taught Students About Brain-Boosting and Heart-Healthy Omega-3s.
Our associates at the University of Memphis took it upon themselves to educate students about the benefits of omega-3s. They set up a Feel Good Foods tabling event inside Tiger Den Eatery, which included a quiz and several recipe cards for foods rich in omega-3s, such as chia seed pudding and honey garlic salmon.
Students could test their knowledge in a quiz about which foods contained the most omega-3s: salmon, chia seeds, or avocado. The answer was salmon, with a whopping 2,150 mg of omega-3s per serving.
Some studies suggest that a deficiency in DHA is related to an increase in dementia and Alzheimer’s. Others have found that consuming DHA long-term is linked to decreased cognitive decline.
The verdict is still out on how omega-3 fatty acids specifically impact brain health, but due to all the benefits seafood offers, I’ll continue to add it to my plate often!
Omega-3s can lower heart disease risk by reducing inflammation, triglycerides, blood pressure, blood clotting, and irregular heartbeat and can also boost mood. Include salmon, chia seeds, tuna and olive oil in your diet regularly. Can you include 3 of these ingredients this week?
We hope to encourage better eating habits among Olive Oil
CHARTWELLS HIGHER EDUCATION CHEFS PARTICIPATE IN COMPASS GROUP’S WOMEN IN CULINARY SHOWCASE
Celebrating the accomplishments of Compass Group’s women culinarians, 23 female chefs traveled to Middleby Innovation Kitchens in Texas to craft culinary masterpieces together and demonstrate their talents.
The chefs worked on a “kinder kitchen” exercise in teams to cook up some delicious culinary masterpieces together. “Kinder kitchen” refers to a culture shift of what we think of as a traditional kitchen environment. In “kinder kitchens” teams can collaborate more effectively when they feel more at ease in a comfortable environment.
The showcase also offered oppor
Chefs Tatiana “Tati” Ortiz from New York University and Maja Gajic from the University of Texas at Arlington represented Chartwells Higher Education. Both chefs have a deep passion for culinary innovation and are key pillars of their universities’ dining programs.
Chef Maja says, “I strive to make a better culture in my kitchen. We try and keep it a positive and fun environment while holding them to a high standard. I believe it’s extremely important to start having kinder kitchens—it’s time for that change. Everyone in the kitchen should feel wanted and feel that they have a voice.”
I’ve been working as a registered dietitian for more than 12 years. There are plenty of female dietitians, but the field of foodservice in general continues to be male dominated. But despite that, I’ve made huge strides in the field of nutrition.
I’ve presented at national conferences, been featured in magazines and won three NACUFS Most Innovative Wellness and Nutrition Awards. I’m also sharing my expertise by teaching the next generation of dietitians in the Dietitian Nutritionist Program at the University of Pittsburgh. By recognizing the women that came before, we can hopefully inspire other women to do big things, even in the foodservice industry.
My grandmother first taught me to cook, and I soon realized that I was pretty good, so you might say my profession chose me!
I have been working in culinary most of my life, and I’ve traveled the world as a personal chef to Paul McCartney, Phil Collins and INXS. I love to make people happy with my cooking and food.
To all my fellow female chefs: never give up, listen to the people who believe in you and fail forward. Be true to yourself, cook with love and, most of all, season as you go!
We’re proud to partner with many minority-owned businesses that are just as passionate as we are about serving authentic, delicious multicultural cuisine. Recently, we teamed up with Louisiana State University’s Auxiliary Services to add a new Blackowned restaurant, TBeaux’s Creole Café, to campus.
TBeaux’s Creole Café is Louisiana Certified Creole, a certification that is only offered to restaurants and concepts of Creole descent that are sourced, manufactured and packaged locally. The café
was created by Melissa Anderson from the LSU AgCenter Food Incubator, which supports startup restaurants by offering expert support and resources from LSU’s Food Science Department. TBeaux’s Creole Cafe will offer students a taste of authentic Creole dishes, like gumbo, po’boys and seafood bisque.
We’re proud to be part of the TBeaux’s success story and are so excited to welcome Melissa Anderson to the LSU campus!
The virtual food hall takes over the John A. Paulson Center New York University is elevating its dining program with the launch of a virtual food hall that creates sustainably prepared and on-trend meals for the NYU community.
Imagine walking into one location and having the option to choose between five distinct cuisines, including: plant-based bowls and sandwiches from Veg 23, Vietnamese-inspired sandwiches and bowls from BONMi, Latin American-inspired bowls from Eso Latin, customizable mac and cheese bowls from City of
Mac and hand-smashed burgers from True Burger.
Crave NYU is a collaboration with SVK Kitchen, a virtual food hall that specializes in fast-casual food cooked in the sous vide technique, which results in deliciously tender and flavorful food.
Crave NYU is just one way we constantly innovate to meet our students’ desires and find ways to bring new, modern dining concepts and technologies to campus.
When Stephen F. Austin State University was creating a new sandwich concept, they recruited their student marketing interns to help them develop something completely custom that they believed would really resonate with their campus community.
Inspired by “Tom,” the grumpy goose that hangs out at their campus pond, Salty Tom’s was created. The storytelling behind the concept is incredible, utilizing Tom’s salty personality in every aspect of marketing, from sandwich names to posters of customized specials.
The menu consists of four signature sandwiches that are all completely customizable, including the “Honk’n Roast Beef” (complete with a bike horn that is honked per order), “The Grumpy Goose,” the “Zesty Goose” and the “Italian Tom.” The brand also includes amazing limited-time offers, such as “Stuff Your Pie Hole Pie” and “The Devil Goose.” This brand has already seen an over 45% increase in sales compared to the prior semester with no signs of slowing down—the students love their salty friend!
