Dave Prentkowski Director of Food Services University of Notre Dame South Bend, IN

Which challenges are facing your managers and staff, and what is your department doing to assist them?

“Our challenges are primarily arising from the economy and the need to comply with university policies. Our revenue side is good, but rising expenses are a problem. Our task is to provide quality food, variety, resources and services, and our food costs are way up, especially, dairy products and meat. To respond, we’re negotiating new purchasing agreements and our chefs are retooling recipes to incorporate less expensive ingredients. This means we’re increasingly offering Vietnamese, Korean, Thai and Mediterranean dishes, which helps us maintain variety, and we’re price-controlling our retail menus.
“In addition, because the economy has had a negative impact on the university’s endowment, there’s less money for departmental operations, including Food Services.”

What are your expectations for residential and retail sales in different facilities through Q4 of 2011?

“As I noted, our sales are good and are on track to remain so. We’re seeing more graduate students, faculty and staff in our facilities, so we have plenty of customers. Our only downside is catering, due again to reduced departmental budgets.”

Which issues keep you up at night?

“Budgeting at Notre Dame is centralized, and each department has to justify its expenses. This means that a big part of my job is to educate administrators about the importance of Food Services to the university’s mission. We have to fight for our allocations and repeatedly tell our story to win the support of new administrators and explain that auxiliary services are just as important as to the university as education and research.”

What was the best meal you enjoyed so far this year, and where and with whom did you eat it?

“Back in February of this year, I had a chance to dine at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans with my wife, one of our daughters and some of her friends. I had the famous turtle soup, pecan-crusted fish with crabmeat and the bread pudding with bourbon sauce for dessert. Between the company, the food and the setting, it was truly a meal to remember.”

What would you most like to change/improve in the relationships between foodservice equipment suppliers and operators?

“I think the equipment makers are doing some good things, but I want more help defining exact specs that meet our specific operational needs. I want equipment suppliers to be more aware of what we do and how we do it, better post-sales support and more partnering on major purchases. Not long ago, we bought some roll-in rack ovens from a supplier and it turned that they drew so much gas our lines couldn’t keep up. That was a clear example of a supplier not taking the trouble to learn enough about our infrastructure, and we wound up behind the eight ball. We’ll be replacing four flight-type dish machines next and we’ll choose our supplier in large part on  willingness to partner with us and sell us equipment that will work best for us.
“I understand that we can’t buy on price alone and I’d rather pay more for equipment that has longer use-life, provides more efficiency and supports our programs best.”

Which parts of the world do you still want to visit and what do you want to do there?

“As I still have never been to Europe, I want very much to go to Italy, to tour and eat different local cuisines.”