Part Two (with bonus video): Food so good, it deserves a second helping
When UND Catering and Bakery departments feed the masses, they sometimes need to break out the power tools
Despite the incredible depth of talent and efficiency with the UND Catering and Bakery teams, there still seems to be some chores for which there are never enough cooks in the kitchen.
But when no number of extra students can help move things along any faster, the kitchen does boast at least a few hulking heaps of metal that can.
Enter Exhibit A. “We call this The Birdbath,” Executive Chef for Retail Dining Mitch Vervalen announces as he rolls over a supersized stainless steel bowl on a customized cart.
Twice as wide and four times as deep as your average garden-variety birdbath, this behemoth bowl makes quick work of prepping pasta salad for a large (let’s say, really large) crowd.
That is, of course, as long as you also have the matching stainless steel canoe paddle to gently toss the noodles with your homemade dressing, sliced grape tomatoes, mozzarella balls and fresh-cut basil.
Not to be outmatched, Bakery Manager Caylie Salge generously demonstrates Exhibit B: The Dough Rounder, or if you prefer, Bun Blaster. This workhorse can take a 6-pound mound of bread dough and magically transform it into 36 perfectly shaped buns in less than 30 seconds.
The first lever pull squeezes out any air bubbles. The second cuts the dough into 36 equally sized pieces. And the third shakes those pieces into even-steven rounds. Next, Salge flips the whole works into a bin of sesame seeds before lining up the buns on a pan to pop into the oven. (Voila! Take that, Grandma!)
But wait … that’s not even the kitchen’s most fascinating piece of heavy-duty equipment. That honor most definitely goes to Exhibit C: The Cookie Depositor. That’s right. If the name alone strikes you funny, you’d be wise to stifle any giggles because what this beastly wonder can do is no joking matter.
Salge says when she joined the UND Catering crew about five years ago, The Cookie Depositor seemed unloved, a bit dusty and forever forlorn.
“It just sat in the corner because nobody knew what it was or how to use it,” she said, before continuing in a more excited tone.
“But one of the first things they asked me when I started here was, ‘Do you have any good cookie recipes?’”
(Well, that was like asking Salge if she knew the difference between baking powder and baking soda.) After previously working at a mom-and-pop bakeshop and a few commercial bakeries where she couldn’t stray a crumb from the in-house recipes, Salge said she was thrilled by the proposition.
“That’s one of the best things about working here,” she said. “I love the freedom and creativity to write a lot of my own recipes.”
That’s how the great cookie plan fumbles
And that’s what she did. Salge got to work rewriting all of UND’s standard cookie recipes — except for the beloved Monster Cookies — and then converted them to work with The Cookie Depositor. Each recipe now yields … get this … 960 cookies!
For those of us who didn’t memorize their multiplication tables past 10, that’s 80 dozen cookies in just one batch. And Salge says they usually make six batches at a time. Even so, that’s apparently not enough for UND’s cookie lovers.
Case in point: Summertime happens to be prime production season for both pizza dough and cookie dough, Salge explained. It’s when The Cookie Depositor probably gets its biggest workout as it pumps out more than 100 dozen 1.5-ounce cookie “pucks” a day.
The cookies then are “blast-frozen” and put in cold storage so they can be pulled out and baked fresh throughout the school year.
So the story goes, Salge and Jones filled 20 totes with 30 dozen each of UND Catering’s most popular cookies — Chocolate Chip, M&M Monster, Sugar, Snickerdoodle and Chocolate Chunk. Then, they filled another 15 bins with a mix of the other flavors.
“We thought we’d have enough for the whole year, but we went through almost all of them just this fall semester,” Salge said with a laugh. “What can I say, UND really likes their cookies.”
Staying cheerful and putting your game face on
Vervalen says they all work as a team, but every chef in the kitchen seems to have their particular specialties.
“As part of their positions, I ask them to bring a few new recipes to the table each year to help our department grow and give them some ownership in what we do,” Vervalen says. “That’s one of the perks of working here. Everyone gets a chance to try out some new things and have some personal input.”
For example sake, Catering Chef Micheal Longwell created a spicy wing sauce this year, and Lead Catering Chef Matt Fashingbauer shared his family dish for Fried Polenta with Braised Beef and Red Sauce. (We were able to taste-test the latter, and we give it a Five-Star-Yum.)
Fashingbauer, who’s also known as the music man in the kitchen, seems to be as jolly as the day is long.
As cheerful banter circulates around the kitchen and a mix of metal and alternative music plays in the background, he and Longwell assemble the luncheon sandwiches — Thick-Cut Turkey on Wild Rice Cranberry Bread made more delicious with a swishy-swash of guacamole, provolone cheese, tomatoes, microgreens and two plump green olives speared with party toothpicks.
“I just brought in my little speaker because I need music when I’m cooking,” Fashingbauer says. “I don’t like to be in the kitchen without music. I think it brings people together and puts everyone in a better mood.”
The genre of music doesn’t really matter, he says. “I just like to have music playing when I’m in the kitchen. It makes me happy.”
Fashingbauer’s cheerful demeanor makes him well-suited for his favorite part of the job, which is cooking meals regularly for UND’s football team and coaching staff.
UND Catering usually makes three or four brunches for the team during the week, and for home games, they often prepare a Friday night dinner and Saturday brunch.
“I’m already a huge football fan in general, so that makes it extra special for me to be able to cook for them. You almost feel like you’re a little bit more a part of everything,” he said. “Then, it’s also cool to follow them closely throughout the season and see how far they go.”
So, what do football players like to eat?
“We do a lot of beef and pork to keep those boys bulked up,” he says with a laugh.
Who knew a pile of salami could be so pretty?
As far as Longwell, he may be the newest chef in the house, but he sure knows his way around a well-designed charcuterie table.
He says he came about his passion for cooking in what some might call a more nontraditional way.
“I like to cook because I grew up reading fantasy novels and watching anime and stuff like that,” he said. “Just like the most impressive creators there are always creating something amazing and new, I want to be that person who can walk into somebody’s house and be like, ‘Oh, I’m going to cook this amazing meal out of your pantry.’
“Making something out of what most people would consider virtually nothing is what I really like to do. I like to call it living my best Studio Ghibli lifestyle.”
If that’s the case, his charcuterie skills scream mission accomplished.
As Longwell delicately folds thin slices of salami round and round the rim of a small drinking glass, he says: “This is one of my favorite things to work on. It’s fun. It’s artistic, and you can be flexible with your creativity.
“You have to look at how things flow — the colors, the textures, the heights. In some ways, it’s actually a lot simpler than you think. I don’t really have a set plan right now. I’m just going with the flow.”
That flow begins with lining a large cake box with parchment paper and topping it with a decorative log chip to create a raised centerpiece feature. He then starts very strategically placing his cornucopia of gourmet cheeses, berries, vegetables, olives, candied nuts and craisins.
He makes sure to leave a few openings for the fig fruit jam and garlic kraut mustard, as well as his ornate, chevron-cut watermelon radishes and mini peppers sliced just right to create brilliant red and yellow lilies.
And once that salami glass is inverted on the platter it turns into a beautiful rosette — so beautiful that guests are later heard to say “Oh, I don’t even want to touch it. This (charcuterie table) is just pure joy on a platter.”
See for yourself or take it from the president
As part-time catering server Cale Stoltenow puts it: “You taste with your eyes first.” So, we’re going to let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
And if this story hasn’t convinced you yet that UND Catering and Bakery are terrific teams that do spectacular work, no worries. You don’t have to take our word for it.
Instead, take it from one of their biggest fans, President Andy Armacost. He had this to say …
“Day in and day out, our catering and bakery staff at the University of North Dakota do amazing work. I come to so many functions at the Memorial Union, where I also like to swing by my favorite pizzeria in town. I participate in functions all over the place, including at our home, when we host things there. Everything is impeccable. The food is the best in the city, and the service is incredible.
“Our student employees do a great job, as do the permanent staff. I’m just so proud of them for everything they do — for the awards they’ve won for their great work and for all the leadership they’ve shown in making it such a great enterprise. Even the coffee is the best I’ve ever had. My colleagues say it tastes like butter.”
>> Did you miss the first course? Be sure to read Part One of today’s feature on UND’s Catering and Bakery departments.
>> And remember to get your orders in early. UND Catering Manager Andrea Green says they recently had to revise the dining policy to require a three-week notice for events with more than 100 guests and a two-week notice for large groups smaller than 100. “There was a little pushback from campus at first, but I don’t think everyone realizes what all we need to do in a day,” Green explained. “We need time to get all of these events organized and the food sourced.” Consider this: Even the ever-popular taco bar is a multiday process if you want Vervalen’s smoky and savory Chicken Barbacoa.
>> Craving something special for your next gathering? There are so many choices. You might want to start looking at the menu now.
