Metz Culinary Management finds success with halal dining pilot

Metz Culinary Management is making its menu more diverse.

To that end, the foodservice provider recently launched a halal dining pilot at the University of Louisville Hospital and Healthcare System (UofL), and after seeing success, expanded it to sites at Niagara University and Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

“Halal menu rollouts at these locations have been extremely popular, with UofL serving 73 halal meals to guests on day one and 94 on day two,” said Hannah Alvarez, division chef in Metz's healthcare segment, in a press release.  “Metz’s halal menu offerings have been so successful that we anticipate rolling it out to additional partner sites in the near future.”

Its halal items on offer include beef kofta, chicken shawarma and a gyro lamb beef cone. 

Chicken shawarma bowl

The Metz hospital partners in Louisville and Erie County had specifically requested halal options, according to a press release, while Niagara University wanted to expand its existing halal offerings.

Guests can choose a single halal item or build a custom plate with several items. At Erie County, they can visit a pop-up site with menus that rotate weekly. In addition, Metz says it plans on regularly refreshing dishes like these that fall within its Global Cuisine Initiative. 

“Creating and serving halal meals for our partners is part of Metz’s exciting new Global Cuisine Initiative to serve nutritionally healthy meals that meet the increasingly diverse needs of guests,” John Selick IV, corporate culinary director at Metz. “We have been offering kosher meals for some time now, along with plant-forward, vegetarian and gluten-free options. Through our Global Cuisine Initiative, we want to provide delicious meals that embrace the fresh ingredients, bright flavors and cooking styles of the world.”