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Florida State’s updated Suwannee Room now a culinary showcase

Mike Buzalka, Executive Features Editor

July 20, 2018

20 Slides
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With its vaulted ceilings and Gothic arches, the century-old Suwannee Room on the campus of Florida State University (FSU) is one of those historic college dining halls that evokes scenes of young men in coats and ties and young women in dresses sitting down to linen-and-silverware meals. Those venerable design touches remain but most everything else—especially the food—have changed drastically, thanks to a six-month renovation that brought Suwannee Room into alignment with 21st century college dining trends.

Gone are food stations that clogged the center of the space, replaced with eight modern service platforms courtesy of dining services provider Sodexo that menu appealing, nutritious dishes made as much as possible with locally grown ingredients, mostly in front of customers in open-kitchen layouts.

The stations range from entrée, pizza/pasta, grill and deli concepts to a soup/salad bar, a bakery where customers can see the bakers at work, an enclosed pantry called My Zone that serves students with diet restrictions and food allergies and Chef’s Table, where staff culinarians turn out sample-size dishes of high-end creations with beautiful plate presentation.

Here’s a photo tour of the new/old Suwannee Room and its offerings.

Read more about:

Sodexo

About the Author

Mike Buzalka

Executive Features Editor, Food Management

Mike Buzalka is executive features editor for Food Management and contributing editor to Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News. On Food Management, Mike has lead responsibility for compiling the annual Top 50 Contract Management Companies as well as the K-12, College, Hospital and Senior Dining Power Players listings. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Literature from John Carroll University. Before joining Food Management in 1998, he served as for eight years as assistant editor and then editor of Foodservice Distributor magazine. Mike’s personal interests range from local sports such as the Cleveland Indians and Browns to classic and modern literature, history and politics.

Mike Buzalka’s areas of expertise include operations, innovation and technology topics in onsite foodservice industry markets like K-12 Schools, Higher Education, Healthcare and Business & Industry.

Mike Buzalka’s experience:

Executive Features Editor, Food Management magazine (2010-present)

Contributing Editor, Restaurant Hospitality, Supermarket News and Nation’s Restaurant News (2016-present)

Associate Editor, Food Management magazine (1998-2010)

Editor, Foodservice Distributor magazine (1997-1998)

Assistant Editor, Foodservice Distributor magazine (1989-1997)

 

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