For the past four years, Bryan Davis, General Manager of Sodexho here at Fairfield University, has held this position with the dining services of various college campuses. Prior to that, he was a culinary student and a chef at TGI Friday’s.
This September, he brought his expertise to the position formerly held by Mark Timmons. Taking a break from a training program, Davis sat down to talk about his experience, goals and expectations for dining opportunities at Fairfield. What are your goals at Fairfield? What we’re looking to do is some renovations down in the retail area and some upgrades in the main dining hall. Next week I think you’ll see a change in the deli. The grill is next and probably the front “Mediterranean” area. The deli’s going to have some upscale sandwiches that are made to go. I’ve only been here four or five weeks, so the plans downstairs are still at the conceptual stages. But kind of a lot of stuff will be going on.
Why did you choose to come to Fairfield? I’ve known some of the managers from different trainings. I’ve always been intrigued by it. It seems really well-supported by Sodexho’s corporate side. It’s a good situation. We see a District Manager, a culinary person, a marketing person, a safety person come through constantly. The Senior VP comes through pretty regularly as well. My District Manager is here pretty much every other week. We have safety and retail audits that come through constantly.
How did you get into the food industry? After high school I went to culinary school and became a chef for about 17 years then went to work for [TGI] Fridays, actually. I got in the front of the house, was the general manager with them for four and a half years, and moved on to something more civil with campus dining.
How would you describe Sodexho as a food service provider? There are three big companies out there. I think a lot of what we do is similar. I think that Sodexho does very well. We’re much more global and I think there’s a lot of support that I haven’t seen in the other systems. I have friends that work for some of the other companies and I think the technology we use is superior to theirs.
How do you plan on ensuring that students are satisfied with the available food options? I think that it’s a couple of things. One thing is looking at surveys, and we do, we look at every one. We look at all the comments. I think that the most important part of any survey – whether it’s a comment card, a survey or an e-mail sent directly to me, which I have had – is that they’re constructive in the sense that sometimes we just get “The food sucks.” That’s fine to say, but tell me why so I can look at it. Generally, you have a great selection here. I mean you really have a large selection for how many kids are here. I know that people get tired of eating in the same place every day. It’s understandable, and there are days that I struggle with it, too. But I think there’s a lot of availability here. I want to let students know that we’re open to conversation; we’re not this closed-up thing hiding from students. We want to hear suggestions and feedback. And again, its not just “You’re doing a great job.” That’s great, but be specific.
Healthy eating is a huge issue these days. How do you suggest students use Sodexho’s options to maintain a healthy lifestyle? The healthy eating thing is funny. As much as there’s talk about that, the things that people eat aren’t necessarily healthy, and they know it but they like to have those healthy options. There are a few foods out there that don’t go quickly. I think that we could always improve and if we had more suggestions from students, you know, we’ll do pretty much anything. We work with the dietitian on campus and try to do whatever we can. Unfortunately, chicken fingers are a number one choice. It’s just one of those things. There are students who want to eat healthy, but some just don’t.
How often do you eat food provided by Sodexho? Everyday. Generally I go all over. Part of the week I’ll go downstairs in the retail area. Sky Ranch or Iggy’s. I’ll eat hot food from upstairs, like Thai beef and rice stir-fry. You know, it just depends what’s out.
Do you see any major changes in Fairfield’s dining services in the near future? One of the things that we’re going to institute is a longer cycle program. Right now Fairfield works on a three-week cycle menu in the dining hall, but we’re going to move to a full semester program. It won’t necessarily mean you won’t see macaroni and cheese again, but you just won’t see it every third week. You’ll see a lot of different things, which infuses a lot of international foods and things like that. That will start in January. I think students will like that. They’ll get bored eventually, but it’s tough. It’s always hard to please 2,200 kids every night of the week. And I always think of opening my own refrigerator and thinking, “Okay, what can I find to eat?” I think the menu thing will be big. We also have an architect coming in next week to look at the Stag and figure out what we can do as far as changes, but nothing for that area is definite yet.
Many people think the meal plan is overpriced. Do you think students are getting the most for their money? I think Fairfield is pretty comparable to other campuses I’ve seen. I definitely think you’re getting your money’s worth. If you were to go out and try to stock your refrigerator with the kind of options that you have, you’d spend well over what you pay for the meal plan. It’s not cheap to serve food here. It’s not an inexpensive thing. Can you go to McDonald’s and eat off the dollar menu for cheaper? Yes, but you get what you’re paying for. I think for the options that you have, and the hours that we’re open, I think that yeah, you’re getting what you’re paying for.
What’s an average day like as Sodexho’s general manager? It really depends on what’s going on around campus. I’m very involved in catering so I’m usually seeing what’s going on there. They have a significant part of the everyday Fairfield University, which probably doesn’t affect the students as much as faculty, but it’s very important in our world. I’m doing a lot of training for health and sanitation. It really does vary and it’s hard for me to say. Everyday’s just different. That’s what I like about it.
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