Duke eateries earn awards
The Duke community has voted.
Among the winners of Duke’s Performance Assessment for Culinary Excellence (PACE) evaluation were The Refectory in the Divinity School (Gold Plate); Bella Union in McClendon Tower (Silver Plate) and Alpine in Duke Clinical Research Institute (Bronze Plate ).
“We strive for excellence in all of our eateries and this program helps us to continually improve the dining experience at Duke by providing valuable feedback,” said Tammy Hope, manager of quality assurance for Duke Dining.
The PACE program uses feedback from a student committee, dining service management and staff, faculty and students who volunteer as mystery diners to rate eateries based on customer service, speed of service, food quality, merchandizing, cleanliness and overall impression.
As part of the assessment, reviews are conducted on kitchen operations, serving and dining operations, training and personnel, sanitation management, food waste reduction, recycling and quality of vegetarian options.
Dining Services Director Jim Wulforst instituted the PACE program at Duke in 2002. The rating system enables foodservice operations to identify strengths and provides an opportunity for improvement.
Of the 25 locations that participated in PACE, all received a rating of “very good” with the exception of the Refectory, which was ranked “excellent.”
Other PACE awards include:
• Henry's Place at the Freeman Center - Top Customer Care Review, Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee Quality Review
• Bella Union - Top Periodic Review of Operations
• Alpine in Duke Clinical Research Institute - Top Operational Review
• Blue Express - People's Choice Award
• The Loop - Teamwork Award
• Faculty Commons - Dining Greening Award
• Armadillo Grill - Most Improved
• Tony Preiss, Great Hall - Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee Manager of the Year