Ricker Dining, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.

A compact layout with essential pieces of equipment to produce a Mediterranean-style menu brings efficiency and labor savings to the comprehensive eco-friendly renovation of this Stanford University dining facility.

By Donna Boss, Contributing Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 4/1/2008

In November 2007, Stanford University's Palo Alto, Calif., campus celebrated the opening of an unprecedented dining facility renovation. Ricker Dining, built in 1982 as part of a dormitory complex for undergrad students, had received numerous upgrades over the years. But when the time arrived to renovate to meet state-mandated building codes, particularly those for earthquake preparedness, the dining facility was gutted and rebuilt to incorporate numerous environmentally friendly upgrades into the structural remodel. This keeps in step with Stanford's Residential and Dining Enterprises vision to “build a sustainable future.”

“Student feedback was taken into consideration as we cultivated our 'livegreen' campaign, which resulted in many of the features incorporated into the facility,” says Rafi Taherian, executive director for Stanford Dining.*

Ricker features a 950-square-foot back-of-the-house kitchen, an 820-square-foot storage area, a 740-square-foot warewash space, a 560-square-foot support area (restrooms, lockers and office), a 575-square-foot servery (not including equipment in the dining room) and 800-square-feet of “on-stage” preparation space. The servery contains a just-in-time salad bar, a made-to-order chef's station, an open kitchen with a grill/griddle platform, a fired brick pizza oven, and a continental breakfast/dessert bar platform. The 9,190-square-foot multi-purpose seating area holds various types of seating, including classic seats and tables and soft seating in a lounge space with LCD screens and internet connections.

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“The project began in order to comply with health and safety codes,” Taherian says. “We thought it would be a fairly minor change. However, we discovered that the facility actually was comprised of two buildings that weren't connected structurally, so we had to 'combine' them so they would also be compliant with earthquake codes. The renovation included seismic retrofit, major changes in the building's infrastructure, kitchen equipment code compliance, and servery and dining room improvements. Once we started looking at everything that needed to be done, we realized we should be looking at energy and water consumption, production methodology and every practice required to construct a sustainable building.”

In fact, says Taherian, the structural retrofit necessitated removing all building finishes to expose the steel structure, removing all existing weld joints, preparing the weld joints for 100-percent weld penetration, re-welding all existing weld joints and installing the prescribed joint gussets at each weld location. In addition, he continues, the building wall anchoring system was improved to current building code standards and several roof structural areas were reframed to prevent possible collapse if an earthquake did occur.

Among the many features in Ricker that contribute to its sustainable elements are enhanced skylights that bring in daylight to the hooded kitchen and servery areas where staff produce meals; energy-efficient equipment such as infrared fryers; and a very large grease interceptor that was placed into the ground outside the building. Another sustainable element is an emergency preparedness generator that staff bring over when needed and connect it to the main switch line.

Aesthetics and functionality within a restricted budget also took priority. For instance, Ricker features modular furniture that a retail merchant was offering at a close-out sale. Soft seating contributes to the family-room-style ambiance in the lounge and concrete floors are stained vs. covered with tiles. “Students can shape furniture the way they want for private and group interaction,” Taherian says.

In the servery, durable solid surface tops and bamboo wood-faced counters with translucent panels on counter fronts contribute to the fresh interior design. Stone archways connect the servery to the dining rooms. In addition, colorful tiles in soffits and columns bring a Mediterranean sophistication to the entire facility.

Outside the building, sustainable gardens managed by students contribute to the exterior aesthetics. The gardens at Ricker and throughout the campus are part of the educational system. Chefs use some of the products, such as herbs and vegetables, in the dining operations' menus. Composting is another sustainable practice at Ricker and throughout the campus.

“Most important, we put our attention on serving exceptional food at Ricker,” Taherian says. “We wanted the kitchen to contain the right equipment, production methodology and everything needed for chefs to make great food.”

“We faced three main challenges with this project,” says Dennis White, manager of design construction and projects. “The original dining hall had a narrow galley-style servery. The kitchen was portioned off, commissary-style, so all cooking was done in the back. There was a large restroom area on the outside and a lot of wasted space. We wanted an open servery where chefs can cook in front of students.”

Architects and the construction crew had to make enormous structural modifications to remove shear walls and some columns and retrofit to comply with earthquake standards, says White. “The university wanted to preserve the outside of the building. Even if we wanted outside compressors, which we did, we had to hide them so they didn't interfere with the exterior façade.”

The more inclusive renovation put daunting pressure on the construction crew, architects and kitchen equipment dealer to meet an already tight schedule. “Getting the kitchen up and running by the time school started was difficult,” White says. Construction started the day after school was out on June 15. The seating area opened when school started in late September. Food was brought over daily. The kitchen and servery opened in early November.

The ambitious notion to seek LEED certification contributed to the schedule delays. For example, the recycled concrete and glass countertops were held up longer than anticipated. “However, we had all the cabinetry made at the fabricators so the contractors could continue building,” White says.

The architects wanted to use the entire 4,000-square-feet of space from wall to wall for the kitchen and servery. “What makes maintaining a schedule difficult is that there is a lot of overlapping of trades, which requires a lot of coordination,” White says. “The structural workers were welding, sparks were flying, fans were blowing to ventilate the space, and the other trades had to work in that same area. Tempers were flaring at times, so we had regular team-building meetings. Many people worked 12-hour shifts six and seven days a week. Other than holidays, no one took off much time.”

During the early conception stages of Ricker, Jim Webb, principal, Webb Design and Commercial Kitchens, provided designs for the original footprint. “One of the most important elements was to marry the ingress and egress of student customers and blend the form and function of the servery with the usage of conference areas by various student groups,” he says. “We wanted to create an 'at home' residential feel for the seating area so it would be part of a whole dining experience.”

Later, Dave Olson, Mark Newlin and David Newlin of Duray Industries refined the design and provided completed drawings, equipment specifications and installation. “Stanford Dining wanted heavy-duty, high-quality equipment to produce high-quality food,” Olson says. “In response to the aggressive schedule, we designed the facility to eliminate critical field dimensions in our fabrication,” Olson says. “This way, we were fabricating concurrently with building demolition. When the new space was ready, we brought in the new equipment, which was ready to be installed.”

“We also had to plumb the facility to be able to increase production in the future,” White says. “For example, we oversized the natural gas and electrical lines by 35 percent.” In addition, cooklines are bigger than necessary for today's production but large enough to handle future increases. “We also added diverse groupings of equipment so we could have a very flexible menu for special events and summer conferences. This facility will definitely be used year-round.”

The facility is also designated as an emergency response center for Stanford and can handle people from neighboring communities if necessary, so generators can be brought in if there is a power outage.

Though the facility was built to serve up to 300 customers at a meal period, at dinner, it currently serves more, including more cash customers than anticipated. White attributes the interest to the newness of the facility and also to the multi-use capabilities.

White says the equipment helps Ricker realize a 15-percent to 20-percent savings in water usage. Skylights help improve the ambiance for the staff, as well as customers, while bringing in natural light that helps reduce energy usage to illuminate work spaces and other areas. Although equipment is energy- and labor-efficient, it is not necessarily Energy Star-designated. “Some of the Energy Star-rated equipment isn't for heavy-duty commercial use,” White says.

The dishwashing area represents another eco-friendly component. The facility incorporates waste separators in order to remove particulates from solid waste. The remaining waste serves as compost in the university's sustainable gardens.

The facility's design also realizes labor savings. “We had a goal to reduce the staff count by four,” White says. “That was possible by installing an accumulator, as well as refrigeration for the salad bar. We used to pack the salad bar with ice and shuffle carts back and forth from the kitchen. The layout of the dishroom also saved one FTE.”

Incorporating ergonomic design also helps enhance the staff's efficiency. “Rafi, who is trained as a chef, was insistent on placement of stations so the distance staff must walk or the amount of twisting and turning needed is minimal,” White says.

Another considerate design element gives male and female staffers separate bathrooms and locker rooms. Also, the manager can see through the kitchen to the entrance door of the servery so she has optimal supervision oversight. In addition, staff, as well as customers, can listen to music throughout the day.

Staff make most of the bulk preparation in the back-of-the-house kitchen. Staff remove chilled, frozen or dry food from storage and take it to worktables. “The storage is all in one place now, which is so much better than it was before,” says Mary Duch, general manager, Ricker Dining and Performance Hall.

Staff cut meat and cheese on a food slicer and fine-cut vegetables in a food processor. A 30-quart mixer prepares mashed potatoes. Staff also cook catfish and chicken in one fryer and vegetarian items in another at the front. A tilting braising skillet produces pot roasts, briskets and organic vegetables. A steam-jacketed kettle heats soups, which staff place in wells that sit in a table in the dining area. Also in the back of the house, a steamer gently cooks fresh vegetables. In addition, a convection oven roasts meats and heats apple crisps, pies and bread.

There is no absolute dividing point between the back of the house and front of house. A few steps from the back-of-house production, staff prepare and assemble foods at various stations under the students' watchful eyes. “The flow works very well for students because they can choose their venue in lieu of queuing up to one long serving counter,” Olson says. “The flow is efficient for the staff between the front and back of the house because the two spaces are contiguous.”

At the Mosaic station, a sauté range allows staff to make just-in-time sautéed dishes such as beef sopecitos, garden crumble fajitas, pork carnitas, stir-fry's and other exhibition-style dishes.

The Bistro station presents back-of-the-house entrées such as Yankee beef pot roast, Sonoran tofu, mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and organic vegetables at dinner. Staff prepare menu items in the back of the house and pass them through a heated cabinet, making the food accessible to the front-of-house staff.

Nearby, at the grill station, staff sizzle garden burgers, hamburgers and chicken breasts on the charbroiler, and prepare trans-fat-free french fries in a fryer. In the evening, customers can build their own pasta dishes, as well as order hearth-roasted root vegetables, roasted banana squash and sautéed Brussels sprouts.

Also at the grill station, staff use the griddle for making pancakes, french toast, grilled cheese sandwiches and tofu with vegetables.

The Hearth station features a pizza oven that becomes a focus of entertainment where staff bake pies, calzones, vegetable crepes and casserole dishes such as lasagna and au gratin potatoes.

At Wanda's Just In Time salad station, staff prepare made-to-order salads, such as “Wanda's famous” chicken Caesar at lunch in small batches so ingredients remain fresh. An additional five-well salad station in the servery holds ingredients so students can compose their customized salads. In the dining room, three cold wells hold additional salad bar items.

At another station, staff assemble made-to-order deli sandwiches. The station also holds condiments, including salsa and guacamole for Mexican foods, raita and chutney for Indian foods and other condiments for falafels, fajitas and menu items at the Mosaic and Bistro stations. Customers also can select a pasta bar or tofu dish at this station. Ingredients are chilled in the cold steam table.

The dessert station, which sits at the built-in counter in the dining room, displays daily a selection of freshly baked pies, cookies or hot fruit crisp at all meals. Across the dining room is another built-in counter that offers fresh-made soups alongside the beverages.

“The kitchen and servery layout is great for us because there is so much refrigeration located very close to the production stations,” says Duch. “The entire operation is tight, which allows staff to be very efficient because they don't have to walk very far to get the ingredients they need.”

With built-in flexibility, the Ricker Dining staff have many opportunities to respond to their customers' often-changing preferences. Maintaining the kitchen and its equipment to comply with sustainable standards will continue to challenge staff. Most important, Ricker Dining will remain a laboratory for experimentation and serve as a baseline model for future campus dining areas.

* Note: In March, Rafi Taherian left Stanford Dining to lead the dining operation at Yale University.