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Back to School: Buffet Equipment for Universities and Colleges That Keep Students Coming Back for More

As a food and beverage manager or cafeteria manager at a college or university, it’s critical to make your mark at the institution. You want to be remembered for making a difference in a meaningful way. Ass college and university food service operators prepare for the new school year, it’s time to start evaluating what worked and what didn’t during the previous academic year.

As the first semester begins, students will return to educational institutions sooner rather than later. The student experience is now magnified more than ever as there is a new appreciation for coming together with others. Ultimately, the goal is to provide an atmosphere and a unique vibe essential to attracting new students.

This article explores the essential elements for creating unique college or university dining areas, from everything down to the buffet equipment.

Challenges College University Cafeterias Face Today

Not surprisingly, one of the primary challenges for the college university catering department is to keep the dining rooms and cafeteria clean, organized, and safe for students, staff, and employees.
With limited space, it’s crucial to find storage solutions that are aesthetically pleasing, functional, and long-lasting. Creating a buffet equipment list is difficult because finding different styles to accommodate various needs is never easy. Sometimes you need fancy dishes, and sometimes it is about bulk and fast-paced serving. All the while, the college university catering department is responsible for finding the buffet supplies and equipment that stay within budget.

The Rosseto Solution

Universities and colleges have many prominent meeting places: cafeterias, graduation parties, and VIP rooms for their sports teams. With the next academic year right around the corner, it is time to prepare the cafeteria, college university VIP room for the sports teams, and the catering departments for these upcoming events.

The goal is to create a unique atmosphere in these spaces, which can not only affect the morale of the guests but even get students to sign up specifically for the institution.

Thankfully, Rosseto is here to help. Rosseto can stock your dining rooms, cafeteria, and stadium VIP areas with the buffet equipment you need. Our prices are compatible, and we have industry-experienced personnel that can offer advice on the right products to purchase. We provide products that save space, time, and money, all unique in design. so you can rest assured that you are receiving only top-quality items. 

Factors to Consider

Since college catering budgets can be tight, it’s helpful to track student dining habits in order to gain insight into the buffet and catering equipment needed for the upcoming school year.

Sticking to a Budget

Being extremely cost-conscious is critical as financial times are tough on colleges right now. To determine how to meet the demands of students while keeping costs at a minimum, colleges are being forced to look at their catering budgets thoroughly. Every purchase must be well thought out.

Providing Students with Options

To entice students to stay on campus for their meals, colleges must ensure a catering budget that allows dining options. The alternative will be a potential loss for the campus if students go off-campus for meals.  Therefore, the struggle for managing the college catering budget becomes how to avoid pushing the costs out of line for the school or the students while maximizing the overall experience.

Trends to Keep in Mind

In addition to various factors, it’s also essential to stay on top of the latest trends of college students and their eating habits.

Payment Technology

Payment options need to keep up with the latest technology making it easier for students. Due to COVID, cashless payments have become increasingly popular as one of the newest payment technologies to hit the market.

Providing Options

For dining solutions students will undoubtedly turn to the countless opportunities available to them through mobile ordering apps, delivery, etc., Having on-good campus options is critical to keeping students’ interests piqued.

Enhance the Experience

Rather than looking primarily for nourishment, students look for more than a quick bite.  They are also looking to have a dining experience like one they would find in off-campus establishments. 

Effectively Manage Your Budget

There are several ways to manage your budget effectively, but here are some tips you cannot afford to skip.

Don’t Overlook Your Menus

Being strategic with your menu design is one aspect of managing your budget. You should always consider the source and season first before the flashy menu items, even though they might catch students’ attention.  Out-of-season ingredients tend to be priced higher than local and in-season ingredients. Best of all, menu items will taste fresher and better when you source these local ingredients.

Learn How to Negotiate

The ability to negotiate budgets is another thing that tends to get overlooked. You always have the option to negotiate with suppliers since prices are rarely set in stone. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?

Have the Best Buffet and Catering Equipment

You should always consider purchasing versus renting equipment to help cut costs for the catering department. Purchasing means you won’t need to rent expensive serving solutions every season. If you do purchase, invest in top-quality catering equipment and consider multi-function equipment like modular portable cafeteria buffet equipment and a chafing dish or two.

You might want to consider purchasing some of the following buffet equipment:

Conclusion

Rosseto can help turn the cafeteria experience into a unique one with our top-of-the-line buffet equipment. The food and service staff will enjoy our products because Rosseto offers style as well as easy-to-use products.

If you’re looking for long-lasting products to save your company money in the long run, turn to Rosseto. After all, it’s the best buffet equipment on the market.

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