Boston University’s Aramark dining crew gets cracking at Lobster Night

Tara Fitzpatrick

Learning how to eat a lobster is an East Coast rite of passage for out-of-towners attending college here. Boston University’s Aramark dining team knows a thing or two (or a million) about lobster, and Lobster Night is a time-honored tradition that celebrates these delicious little critters from the sea. This kind of event is a chance for the dining team to introduce themselves—and the legendary local food—to an audience who may not be familiar with the joy of the lobster boil yet.

“Lobster Night is a signature event as we open the academic year,” says BU’s Associate VP of Auxiliary Services Paul Riel, Ed.D. “It’s great to see students, many who have never tasted lobster, enjoy an authentic New England meal.”

To get ready for this year’s Lobster Night, using standards from Monterey Bay Seafood Watch, the BU team obtained thousands of lobsters. All told, they served 7,000 Maine lobsters to more than 6,600 students.

And while lobster was the star, lots of other cool New England flavor and local items were the buzz of the evening. For this event, we’re talking 4,300 ears of corn, 77,500 blueberries from Maine, 1,800 lbs. of potatoes from Rhode Island and more. The brine for the lobster used 75 gallons of Massachusetts cider.

To build excitement for Lobster Night, students took part in a lobster scavenger hunt. Find a cute plush lobster hiding somewhere on campus and get one extra lobster ticket for Lobster Night. The first 50 people in line for the event will take home lobster stress balls, so they can remember this fun event as they stress out over exams and projects throughout the semester.

Students in quarantine and isolation due to Covid precautions didn’t miss out—the dining team has been providing meals for them and made sure they got the full Lobster Night menu delivered to their temporary housing locations.