As student expectations for dining evolve, Aramark Collegiate Hospitality is advancing its plant‑forward menu strategy to develop craveable plant-forward, vegan, and vegetarian dishes designed for taste, health and environmental benefits.
To accelerate that work, Aramark Collegiate Hospitality convened chefs from across the country at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW), a partner campus, for a multi‑day menu development session focused on addressing student interests in more diverse, contemporary plant‑based options that deliver on flavor and values alike.
Over the course of two days, eight regional Culinary Institute of America (CIA) trained, ProChef® certified culinarians worked alongside Aramark’s Culinary Development team to create, test and refine recipes. Each dish underwent multiple rounds of tasting, visual evaluation, and operational testing before being finalized.
The resulting menu combines familiar comfort foods with globally inspired flavors—from vegan breakfast burritos and plant‑based, egg‑alternative frittatas to chicken‑fried oyster mushrooms, jackfruit‑based meatball subs, and house‑made tofu applications like a cheesy pesto stromboli featuring house-made tofu “cheese”.
Across the recipes developed, chefs emphasized whole‑food ingredients and cleaner labels, intentionally shifting away from heavily processed meat alternatives toward recognizable, plant‑forward components that resonate with today’s students.
“Flavor always comes first,” said Aramark Senior Director of Culinary Development Chef Scott Zahren. “Once it tastes and looks right, we test and refine it—multiple times—to ensure it works operationally for employees. This was a focused effort to close gaps by developing new plant‑based dishes that deliver on all three.”
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Moving beyond the test kitchen, the chefs wanted to be certain that the recipes met with student excitement and approval. The recipes were served at a plant‑based station takeover at UNCW during normal dining hours to encourage students to experience the new dishes and provide real-time feedback.
Students showed strong interest in the expanded plant‑forward options via social media and in‑person feedback.
“This recipe development experience was fantastic—from connecting with talented chefs across the country to collaborating on a shared vision and channeling our culinary creativity into exciting new dishes,” said Carter Layne, Aramark Collegiate Hospitality Executive Chef at the University of Virginia.
Over the course of the next several months, each recipe will undergo more testing including additional customer feedback, in depth nutritional analysis, and allergen review, before it is entered into Aramark’s proprietary recipe system with broad launch of the new recipes planned for fall semester menus.
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