15 Questions with Ted A. Mayer

Ted A. Mayer, executive director of Harvard University Dining Services, moved from Middlebury College to Cambridge to direct one of the country’s oldest (and largest) self-operating collegiate dining services. He sits down with FM to dish about his plans to make Harvard sustainable, forty thousand pounds of local squash, and traveling to Tokyo to talk about college cafeterias. Dying to get a taste of Mayer’s next moves? Read on, ’cause your order’s up.



1.

Fifteen Minutes (FM): If you were stranded on a desert island for one month, and could only eat one HUDS dish, which would it be?

Ted A. Mayer (TAM): If I was stranded and could only eat one dish, which would it be? Well, I would pick something that had vegetables in it, and somehow provided a complete protein. It may not be the one that I like the most, but a month is a long time and I would like to remain healthy.



2.

FM: Very practical. But what’s the most popular meal at HUDS?

TAM: Probably popcorn chicken or something like that.



3.

FM: Then why so much squash? And what’s your favorite variety?

TAM: I like the Delicata, that’s my favorite variety.* Why so much squash? Well, that’s where we commissioned the forty thousand pounds. I mean, it’s local. (Laughs) I can imagine people are beginning to get tired of it. Everybody thinks that’s all we’re serving. But there’s good reason behind it.







*[Editor’s note: For readers with unrefined palettes, that’s the long-shaped one with a cream and green striped skin.]

4.

FM: Speaking of the daily menu, what goes into planning Harvard dining hall fare?

TAM: Well, in the House system, the daily menu operates on a four week cycle. When you look at a menu, you try to mix up proteins, vegetables, and starches, and you try to mix it up from day to day as well as within each day. Then you have the seasonality. We have three seasons, and we base it on fall, winter, and spring. That’s one of the major ways we can control local buying and having more sustainable products.



5.

FM: And how do you see the menu changing in the near future?

TAM: Well, the menu’s a combination of budget and what’s available, but it’s mostly what students like and dislike. If there is a demand for more sustainable foods, we try to figure out how to make that happen. I think that’s becoming more important to people.



6.

FM: In retrospect, were you pleased with the results of Sustainability Week here?

TAM: I thought it was great, yeah. The primary purpose is to get the greenhouse gas emissions down. I mean, that’s where the biggest bang for the buck is and it’s the most challenging.



7.

FM: So where does the leftover food from HUDS go?

TAM: To the Boston Food Bank.



8.

FM: Signs in the dining halls recommend that students try “trayless dining.” How does ditching the tray help Harvard’s efforts in sustainability?

TAM: People take less food. They take less food and they waste less. They’re a bit more conscious of their choice. And it also saves money, and if you save money, you can use it for buying more local or sustainable food.



9.

FM: You also recently went to the University of Tokyo and spoke at the first ever Food Symposium on the role of food awareness in higher education. Can you talk a little bit about your experience there?

TAM: The University of Tokyo itself is very different than Harvard—it’s not a residential university, it’s a commuter school. And they look for ways in which administrators and faculty relate to the students in other areas other than the classroom. We did talk about food, but they were interested in things like how we communicate information, what avenues we use, the feedback cards, the blog, how we have a relationship with our students, how our staff know students—and we use food as the medium to do that.



10.

FM: The Food Literacy Project plays a big role in developing the HUDS relationship with students. What are your plans for the Food Literacy Project?

TAM: The next step is the Food Literacy Reps, to try and really have the students from each House focus in on their individual Houses and see how we can have more student input and control. Their feedback will determine what the next steps are.



11.

FM: Dish: what’s some of the weirdest feedback you’ve gotten?

TAM: (Laughs) Uh, hmm. Well, I remember getting a really, really great compliment about a breakfast, and the comment went on and on and on, as only, I think, an articulate student could do. And then they said something, “But then again it’s hard to bleep bleep screw up Captain Crunch.”



12.

FM: What’s your favorite part about working in HUDS?

TAM: I think probably the students. I enjoy keeping up. And you know, being at Harvard is always great as well. It’s a very intense, changing environment that always presents challenges and opportunities. And you want to be able to feel that you’re contributing as well as being challenged, so it’s not the same old, same old kind of thing.





13.

FM: Most memorable HUDS moment?

TAM: Let’s see... I don’t think there’s any one that stands out more than the other. I do remember an event that was deeply moving to me. That was when Nelson Mandela got an honorary degree. That was really quite extraordinary.





14.

FM: Tell me one thing about HUDS that would surprise a Harvard student.

TAM: What’s one thing... I don’t know. There are a lot of misconceptions about HUDS. People make a lot of assumptions, and they’re really all over the place, from our purchasing, from who makes decisions about what, or how decisions are made, or who controls what. So I don’t know what the answer is.





15.

FM: What’s your favorite place to eat at Harvard?

TAM: My favorite house?

FM: Yeah.

TAM: Never! They’re all wonderful, every single one is great.