Editor’s Note: “Questions of the Week” is part of a weekly series in which Daily reporter Nina Fox interviews a prominent person in the Iowa State and Ames communities. To suggest a person for her to interview, submit an e-mail request to [email protected]. This week’s interview is with Stewart Burger, associate director of dining services.

What do you do as director of dining services?

I am responsible for the residence dining system, which includes Central Warehouse Purchasing Area. We have a professional staff in those areas for budgeting, and we have about 600 employees who are bakers, cooks, etc.

How are the convenience stores in the residence halls working out?

Very well. We’ve had a lot of business over the past semester. Every location is set up slightly different, and we’re finding out what products sell and what products don’t sell. So it’s a trial and error process. We’re also finding out what hours to be open, what hours not to be open.

We don’t have another [C-Store] scheduled to open in the residence halls at this point, we just have the three. We may open a fourth over in the old [Richardson Court Association] area, but we really need to ascertain Maple. Right now, Maple is over built for that location. So until we have the three buildings open … it’s hard to judge the need.

Why must everyone who lives in the residence halls have a meal plan?

No. 1, we do not have the facilities for students to be eating in [their dorm rooms]. And part of the cost of operating the residence halls is [paid] by the Board of Contractors, so we pay for part of the upkeep, and everyone who lives here is responsible for paying the other half.

What changes will be made in the Master Plan as far as dining services?

The Master Plan is going to include many major changes as far as dining service. We spent a lot of time doing an extensive market research of all the students, both living in the halls and off campus, to find out what they like, what they didn’t like, what changes they’d like to see.

So the new facility will be designed an “a la carte” basis, where items will be priced on a dollar basis.

We’ll have outside dining for people together. This will make Hawthorn Court very unique.

Will all the dining services on campus eventually switch over to “a la carte” meals?

I think eventually it will happen — it will be a big transition. Obviously, our cafeterias now are designed pre-World War II. We have a lot of flexibility to change.

How do you accommodate students with special diets?

We have a very extensive, highly important service nutritional counseling and special diet preparation. I’m guessing approximately 12 to 15 [per day] special diets are prepared. We have a dietitian available at every dining service.

First, we need an order from the doctor, and then we can talk with the student and make a list of recipes to accommodate their special diet needs. Usually the student and the dietitian meet on a weekly basis.

We have students [who suffer] from mild allergies, to ones who are on a very strict diet.

What is your favorite food at the dining halls?

My favorite food is pasta and the homemade rolls. We bake all our own products, but I like all sorts of rolls.