Unpacking a day of dining at Scott Traditions

Brooke Tacsar
Thu, 19 Oct 2023 01:58:50 +0000
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Traditions at Scott was voted as the top option for on-campus dining at Ohio State in the Lantern’s 2023 “Best of OSU” polling. Credit: Brooke Tascar | Lantern Reporter

When it comes to Ohio State’s prized institutions, it seems one on-campus eatery resonates among students and Dining Services employees alike: Traditions at Scott.

Home to 10 food stations, roughly 60 employees, 202 student workers and hundreds of hungry Buckeyes every day, Traditions at Scott has boomed in popularity since opening its doors in 2015.

For the 2023-24 academic year, The Lantern’s readers voted Traditions at Scott the best on-campus dining location; even so, the actual prep work for just one day of dining remains a mystery to most.

Abby Hertzfeld, associate director of operations for Ohio State’s Dining Services, said Traditions at Scott’s employees strive to create a home-kitchen atmosphere for visiting students.

“It is not just a dining hall to [students], but a place they go to find nourishment and to relax,” Hertzfeld said. “We take that very seriously.”

Hertzfeld said Traditions at Scott receives deliveries of roughly 75 pallets of food six days a week. She said such food is sold within 48 hours of receiving it.

Beyond the dedication Scott workers put into their jobs, Hertzfeld said the logistics that go into prepping such large food quantities on a daily basis demand a coordinated and reliable team. Scott’s staff determines how much food to purchase and chefs’ necessary prep work, both based on students’ typical eating patterns, Hertzfeld said.

“We provide prep lists for all of our line staff, and we are very diligent about tracking usage,” Hertzfeld said. “We set those prep lists to fit our needs based on historical data.”

Traditions at Scott goes through 1,200 pounds of fresh fruit a day and 15,000 pounds of chicken every month, but successfully delivering food from the fridge to a student’s plate — or to-go box — requires extreme efficiency, Hertzfeld said.

Payton Roland, a second-year in health information management and Scott employee, said the dining hall has allowed her to build friendships while still having a flexible work schedule.

Originally a student cashier who handled the front door entrance and assisted with cleaning duties, Roland has since been promoted to the student assistant position, meaning she directly participates in the food preparation and employee training processes.

Roland said the sheer number of students that pour into the dining hall daily can be overwhelming, but with a system as concise as Scott’s, she has never felt unsupported.

“They have prepared us in that you have to stay calm and just do it as you can,” Roland said. “We have radios, and if you radio [the managers] and say, ‘Hey, we need help at the cashier’s stand,’ they are always like, ‘I’m on my way.’”

Roland said she feels Traditions at Scott has been a work experience brimming with accommodation, inclusion initiatives and an environment of hardworking employees.

One of those hardworking employees is assistant chef Chester Yannatone.

Traditions at Scott’s “home station” has the most food options and consistently proves to be one of the more popular stops among students, Yannatone said. As a result, it typically requires the most prep work.

“We are always grilling chicken,” Yannatone said. “There is usually one of us assistant chefs back there for a good portion of the day just marinating or grilling chicken because of the volume we go through.”

With the level of cooking required in the culinary sector of Traditions at Scott, Yannatone said his goal as an assistant chef is ensuring workers also receive a quality experience.

“One of the goals of being a chef is not necessarily being the best person that makes food, but who makes everyone around you to be their best,” Yannatone said.

Yannatone said every food station must be manned at all times to keep up with customers’ demands and guarantee the smoothest process possible. In addition to student cashiers handling the front end and chefs operating behind the scenes, Hertzfeld said Scott also has vendors who help clean, process and cut certain food items before delivery.

“That is why we don’t overly change the menu,” Hertzfeld said. “It takes a lot of coordination and organization.”

To ensure there are diverse culinary options for students, Yannatone said he and other chefs often have conversations with corporate executive chef Lesa Holford.

“We get an idea of which direction we want to take, and then we figure out how we want to execute it,” Yannatone said.

Yannatone said he feels honored Traditions at Scott was chosen as the best on-campus dining location, but none of it would be possible without his team.

“Communication and camaraderie [are] necessary for the work to be done,” Yannatone said. “That is what’s necessary to be successful in any kitchen.”

Yannatone, Hertzfeld and Roland said the healthy collaboration showcased by Scott’s employees is ultimately what makes it the best on-campus dining location.

“Our team has put a lot of labor and love into this location,” Hertzfeld said. “It takes a village to run a facility of this scope.”