Q&A: Mike King on the Deep, Dark Secrets of Your Cafeteria

The mastermind behind our school cafeteria, Mike King, generously answered some of our questions about what goes on behind the scenes at lunch time.

GOAT: How much food does Hopkins consume every day?
Mr. King: It depends on what is on the menu. For example, take the menu for Monday 8/31. We usually go through about 12 gallons of soup per day . That day we served 200 lbs of turkey [editor's note: JESUS], 150 lbs of smashed Yukon Gold potatoes, almost 50 lbs of corn, and about 650 pieces of fruit. We also served approximately 60 lbs of food on the salad bar and about 45 lbs on the deli, 12 loaves of bread, 240 rolls, 22 gallons of juices, and about 20 gallons of milk.
GOAT: How much does that cost? Does the school pay by the day/month/year/etc.?
Mr. King: The food bill over the year is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The school pays for the food, labor and services each month.
GOAT: Who provides the food, and where does it come from?
Mr. King: The chef and I order from our suppliers on a daily basis. Many of the products we use come from a large supplier in Springfield, Mass. Produce comes from a supplier in New Bedford Mass who deals with many small local farms in the CT, RI and Mass area. We frequently buy local, first pick, and organic items from this supplier. Fish comes from a local supplier here in the New Haven area. Ice cream and dairy from New Jersey.
GOAT: Who plans the menu, and how far in advance is it planned?
Mr. King: The chef, Eric Blass, prepares the menus, with input from myself and others on our staff, and suggestions from students and faculty members. We plan the menu on a monthly basis, this is called a cycle menu and we run on monthly cycles.
GOAT: Is the food prepared on campus, or just defrosted?
Mr. King: Everything is prepared here on campus, in the kitchen. We use very little frozen product. We only use two frozen vegetables- peas and corn. All other vegetables are fresh.
GOAT: Is nutrition information available for school lunch foods?
Mr. King: No. Providing nutritional information for menus items is a science that cannot be performed in a working commercial kitchen- it needs a laboratory. The amount of effort and cost necessary would be prohibitive.

...only two questions remain: Why is the steak called "savory loin of cow" and WTF IS IN THE MEATLOAF