The face of campus dining is changing. “Over the years, the quality of the food has improved significantly, which I believe has drastically improved campus life,” says Jared Huff, a sophomore international business management and Japanese major from Knoxville.
Sodexo, which manages campus dining, reports that the number of meal plans for ETSU students reached an all-time high for the fall semester of 2024, topping the previous fall’s number by more than 1,000.
From southern fried chicken on Fridays to the occasional pot of Vietnamese pho, the variety of options at the Dining Hall is endless. Choices in this vast food space on the third floor of the D.P. Culp Student Center range from three kinds of pizza every day to omelets made to order by Kathy Brown, who recently turned out 170 of them in one day.
In addition to the focus on freshness, Senior Executive Chef Beau Gerarde emphasizes connections to Appalachian suppliers as he plans Dining Hall meals some three weeks in advance. Prairie Farms, an 85-year-old farmer-owned cooperative that started in Somerset, Kentucky, visits the ETSU campus several times a week, bringing milk, heavy cream, and half and half.
Gerarde explains that the Sodexo corporate office determines about 80 percent of the menu served at the Dining Hall. The other 20 percent gives Gerarde room to accommodate regional tastes.
“That allows us to offer dishes like biscuits and gravy, which our students love,”
he says.
The chef’s local connections are deep. He is a native of Jonesborough and a graduate of David Crockett High School. He then completed the two-year program at Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh before joining Sodexo.
“That program was eight hours a day, and when I got out of class at 3 p.m., I worked a restaurant job until midnight,” says Gerarde. He understood, early on, that food service work involves long hours, especially when you’re responsible for the nourishment of thousands of university students every day.
His work ethic is paralleled by the experience of Sodexo’s Resident District Manager at ETSU, Kelvin Tarukwasha, a native of Zimbabwe. At Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, Tarukwasha worked in the cafeteria’s dish room, on his way to earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting.
“The Dining Hall is a central hub for ETSU students, especially those living on campus,” says Huff. “I appreciate the variety of options available and the welcoming environment. One of my favorite things about the Dining Hall is the pancake breakfast that is put on during finals week.”
Grilled cheese sandwiches have been a fixture on ETSU menus for decades. Once every few weeks, Sodexo cook Lamont Rolle heats up the griddle and cooks them to order. Lines form quickly when word spreads that his repertoire for the day includes molten pimento cheese. And when it’s time to simmer some pho, it’s Rolle who makes the broth for the classic Vietnamese soup.
“Lamont has cooked in several big city kitchens, including Miami, and he once worked in a Vietnamese noodle house,” says Gerarde.
Students’ knowledge of food is ever expanding, and the Dining Hall is keeping pace. At the “allergy-free station,” diners can view recipes and ingredients. Staff are trained on specific allergies. Utensils are purple, to prevent cross-contamination.
At the section of the Dining Hall called Savory, there’s a “home cooking” feel, with choices like chicken pot pie and mashed potatoes. At the Quick Fix section, students can watch their Greek gyro sandwiches being grilled and assembled.
And a fully stocked delicatessen is available every day. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sodexo added a “to-go” option, and the company has kept it going.
In January of this year, Sodexo opened Pepper’s sports grill at the ETSU parking garage. The menu includes salads, wraps, chicken quesadillas, and burgers like the Smokehouse, made from freshly ground beef and topped with blackberry barbecue pork as well as bacon and cheddar cheese.
“The Dining Hall is a fantastic amenity provided to ETSU’s students,” concludes Jared Huff.
Kelvin Tarukwasha concurs. “Here, there is a huge focus on taking care of students and their expanding culinary needs.”
Through the Dining Hall, food becomes a vital part of students’ education as they learn about the delights of Moroccan eggplant tagine and Italian chicken thigh cacciatore.
By Fred Sauceman | Photos by Charlie Warden and Ron Campbell
Read more incredible stories in the Winter 2025 Edition of ETSU Today. #BucsGoBeyond
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