Carleton University has a great cafeteria. I want this to be established before some of our newcomers start thinking otherwise. Not only is the food delicious, but as I’ll explain, I believe the caf embodies our institution’s most central values.
Those of you who are experiencing the cafeteria for the first time may be saying “Of course! I love the caf. I’m almost ashamed of how much the promise of unlimited chocolate milk affected my decision to come to Carleton.”
But believe me, not all of you will always feel this way. There will come a day a few months from now when, hungover, you’ll flop your way into the cafeteria for breakfast at 2 p.m, avoid eye contact with the person at the front desk and then, ignoring the tongs and picking broccoli out of the bin with your fingers, you’ll voice some complaint like “Ugh, he only put two pickles on my sandwich? I hate this place. Glug, glug, glug.”
That’s right. After living in residence for a while, some people will find crankiness enough in their hearts to think we have a bad dining service. To quote a recent Justin Trudeau advertisement, I couldn’t disagree more.
First, and most obviously, our cafeteria food is delicious. There was almost always a lineup for omelettes when I went to the cafeteria for breakfast. The omelette chef was a wizard with eggs and a frying pan. Now, every time I have an omelette made by anyone else in the world (including my dear old mother), I’m sincerely a little bit sad because nothing approaches the “chef d’oeufres” that the caf’s omelette person makes.
And the choices! As if perpetual pizza, sandwich, pasta, fruit, dessert and salad bars weren’t enough, the cafeteria is always offering a rotation of well-made and sometimes intriguingly exotic dishes. I’m sure we’ve all heard horror stories of other universities where options are restricted to either a single meat or vegetarian dish. Never mind the CBC reports last spring of the food services at Memorial University, whose palatable options included: raw pork, moldy lemons, or “taco à la mouche” (a taco with a fly in it).
For me, though, there’s something even more important than the quality, and that’s the accommodating inclusiveness. I have a friend who, due to some health issues, unfortunately cannot eat most of the food in the caf.
My friend has always praised, however, the staff’s generous consideration in making personalized meals for those who need it.
Whether it’s from choice, belief system or health needs, the cafeteria staff will always go out of their way to make sure you’re taken care of. This spirit of inclusiveness and ensuring nobody misses out on the fun is, for me, the fundamental attitude of Carleton University, and is one of the things I value most about us as a community.
So, months from now, once you feel the urge to start nibbling at the hand that feeds you, take a deep breath, get another litre of chocolate milk, and consider this: in a place where there are other real issues that need cleaning up, the cafeteria is doing a damn good job.
