Cornell Dining’s associate director Paul Muscente and Rose’s head chef Daniel Czebiniak spoke at the Becker-Rose Cafe this past Wednesday evening. I was looking forward to attending this cafe for a number of reasons, including the fact that I love the dining experiences on West Campus– the quality of the food, the variety, the convenience, and the presentation.

Mr. Muscente offered impressive facts about Cornell dining, most notably, that nearly 20,000 meals are served every day in the dining halls and cafes across campus. I was also very excited to hear that Cornell was recently ranked as having the best dining out of any college in New York state. Way to go, Cornell Dining!

A large portion of the cafe was spent discussing sustainability and Cornell Dining’s efforts to increase the quantity of local vegetables used, while also limiting overall food waste. I know that many students have been frustrated by the new meat rationing this year. Chef Daniel, however, explained the rationing as a means to prevent students from wasting uneaten meat, and also to encourage us to fill our plates primarily with healthy veggies. While Cornell Dining’s effort to minimize meat consumption and waste is off to a great start, I wonder if we can go even further with this idea. I recently spoke to friends about having a weekly meatless day in at least one dining hall on West Campus. In doing so, we might significantly reduce CO2 emissions from the meatless dining hall, and perhaps create a greater awareness for the importance of paying attention to what we eat– not only for our own health, but for future generations.

At the end of the cafe, one student suggested to Chef Daniel that the desserts be moved away from the fruit stand in the Rose dining hall. As students walk out of the dining hall, it is tempting to pick up a dessert and a piece of fruit, but if the desserts are separate from the fruit, students might be less inclined to take both. I thought this was a great suggestion, and I was impressed to see that the desserts and fruit were separated in the dining hall within two days of the Becker-Rose Cafe. The responsiveness of the team of managers speaks to what I think is the greatest strength of Cornell Dining– Mr. Muscente and Chef Daniel really do care about and listen to the community.