UGA’s Food Services received the top prize for a residence hall theme dinner from the National Association of Colleges and University Food Services on July 11.
Food services won both a gold and a national Loyal E. Horton Dining Award for its Jan. 22 “Spotlight on Broadway” dinner. The dinner was judged on menu selection, merchandising and presentation, marketing and overall impression-including the dinner’s “wow factor.”
Served in all four dining halls, the “Spotlight on Broadway” dinner featured foods inspired by renowned New York City restaurants, indoor and outdoor décor and live entertainment.
The dining halls were decorated with outdoor marquees announcing the dinner. Inside were ticket counters, show posters and floor-to-ceiling displays reminiscent of Phantom of the Opera.
The menu included Oysters Rockefeller from Garrick, spinach gratin from Savoy Restaurant, pistachio cannoli from Rocco’s Pastry Shop and cheesecake bars with minted blueberries from Blue Hill Restaurant.
Athens Creative Theatre provided live vignettes from Broadway musicals, including Grease, Hairspray, Oklahoma and Wicked, during the dinner.
In the dining halls, theme dinners are held about every four weeks throughout the school year, with new concepts debuting in the spring.
In addition to the national grand prize and the gold award, food services also won a bronze award for its retail outlet, The Red Clay Café. The award judged the diner on menu, marketing, food preparation and café design.
For its standard residence hall menu, food services won an honorable mention in the Residence Hall Dining Multiple Outlets/Concepts category.
Food services has won a total of 63 national Loyal E Horton awards since 1986.