The following is an extended version of the article that appears in our September 2024 issue.
(From left) VCU Dining Services dietitian Quinn Taylor, Aramark executive chef Kyle Midgett and Food Service Director Aaron Morgan
Food that feeds the masses— served on cafeteria trays to swarms of college students — may not necessarily bring to mind top-notch cuisine or hospitality. When I was a Ram at Virginia Commonwealth University a decade or so ago, I can’t say I was rushing to be swiped in for a meal at the campus dining hall (unless I was between paychecks).
But in recent years, the downtown college has been working to level up its dining hall fare. VCU Dining Services recently hired its first-ever executive pastry chef, purchased an extruder to make pasta from scratch, shifted to using 100% halal chicken and has even partnered with area farms to source local produce.
Food Service Director for Aramark VCU Dining Services Aaron Morgan says, “There’s been a lot of change; a stronger leadership team with a larger culinary focus has been a really big goal of ours as a whole, and that’s really the easiest way to help me get everything taken care of, with a better team behind us.”
Morgan originally started with Aramark, the company that is contracted to manage campus dining operations, as a waiter at the now shuttered Chili’s at the university. A dozen years later, he’s responsible for overseeing Shafer Court Dining Center, home to fast-casual chains Einstein’s Bagels and Shake Smart, as well as the main dining hall, Market 810 @ Shafer, upstairs.
At VCU, students living in university housing — other than graduate students or VCU apartment residents — are required to purchase a residential dining plan. Meal plans include a mix of swipes and dining dollars, which can be used at retail locations.
On average, a crew of 80 employees is responsible for feeding 2,000 students a day at the dining hall, which is home to a marketplace-style array of stations from sushi to sandwiches and a grill, along with a rotating concept that has included Mediterranean fare, tacos and stir fry. This semester, the first solely vegan station will be introduced, as well one free of the top eight food allergens, dubbed True Balance.
One of the staffers Morgan communicates with most is executive chef Kyle Midgett. A former teacher of cooking classes at Publix, in-house chef at the Virginia Governor’s Mansion and corporate chef, Midgett says, “I was brought in to elevate the food and start bringing just the higher caliber of culinary arts to VCU. I want people with dietary restrictions to feel safe and comfortable and to teach our staff how to communicate with the students when they have an issue. I want to use the freshest ingredients possible.”
Executive chef Kyle Midgett prepares a creamy asparagus, mushroom and squash pasta with handmade noodles.
Menu planning is done in advance, and in July, the crew was eagerly prepping for the fall. Each week, there is a menu call with Midgett, Morgan and the campus registered dietitian (a newer role at VCU), Quinn Taylor. Referred to as the allergy-friendly-cuisine queen, Taylor offers consultations for dining plan holders, shares tips for healthy eating through her Instagram account (@vcudietitian) and works closely with the team to collaborate on well-balanced options and ensure that nutrition and allergen information on dishes is up to date.
“This is an interesting population because, for a lot of the students, college is the first time they’re fully on their own and putting meals together and the first time they have full autonomy over what they’re eating, which can be overwhelming,” Taylor says. “We want the dining part to be easy, which is one of the reasons I’m here, to help students. I encourage students to utilize me, I’m kind of a perk of the dining plan.”
Anisa Baeroosh, the dining hall’s dedicated executive pastry chef and the first to hold the position, says that from the initial batch of housemade treats she whipped up, students could taste a difference. “We just did production cookies from scratch, and people noticed immediately, and now I have to make a ton, which is great,” she says with a laugh.
A longtime pastry chef at the University of Virginia who also worked at Capital One and Ellwood Thompson’s, Baeroosh is backed by a group of 10 fellow bakers. A bonus in her current role is that she can interact with students and gain feedback — she’s learned the vegan Oreo brownies and blondies are big hits.
It is something as simple as a dining hall, but it can be so much more to so many people.
—Aaron Morgan, Food Service Director for Aramark VCU Dining Services
These newer positions are supported by a squad of tenured employees at Shafer Dining Hall, among them Jackie Cherry, aka Ms. Jackie or Peaches (see article below). She lovingly refers to students as her “babies,” and if you’ve eaten at Shafer in the last 16 years, no doubt Cherry swiped you in. While the culinary crew ensures students have access to a healthy diet, Cherry ensures that students feel the love.
A Richmond native with a matriarchal presence, she says, “When [students] first come here and have lunch for the first time, I’m the first person they see. I have to make that connection with them, they have to know someone will be stable in their life; I’m that stable person.”
Stability is an aspect the dining hall has been working continually to perfect. Some students may feel a reinvestment in campus cuisine has been a long time coming, but large-scale change can often be a slow and steady roll.
“Our goal is to be as ahead and well thought out as possible so we can actually show the care we need to,” Morgan says. “That’s the biggest part and something that I think this place needed a lot, was that care, that love, and we’re getting a lot of it infused right now with all these different counterparts. I’m actually pretty excited I get to be a part of this, and it is something as simple as a dining hall, but it can be so much more to so many people.”
Longtime VCU Dining employee Jackie Cherry, aka Ms. Jackie or Peaches
‘Always Peached Up’
An established VCU dining employee keeps the smiles coming
Jackie Cherry, aka Peaches, may be one of the most familiar and friendly faces at Virginia Commonwealth University. The longtime VCU Dining Services employee has proudly held her position for nearly two decades, and if you’ve eaten at Market 810 @ Shafer, there’s little doubt she was the one to greet you. An unofficial matriarch of the dining hall, her impact extends beyond the quick swipe of a card. Referred to by students as “the GOAT” and revered by co-workers as one to put you at ease, Cherry has her own special seat, always keeps mints nearby and can get anyone to crack a smile.
Richmond magazine: Are you from Richmond? When did you start working at VCU?
Jackie Cherry: I’m from Faulkner County, Virginia. I’ve been here [in Richmond] since I was 14. Richmond is my home, South Side is my home. My daughter, Kim, started working here first. She works at the Starbucks and has been here 20 years; she got me here, and I’ve been here ever since. I came in and did an interview, and it’s been 16 years. My granddaughter works right over there [points]. I have a son that works in the commons. 16 years, lord. I can’t even imagine how many people I’ve seen, I would love to know.
RM: Do you have a close relationship with the students?
Cherry: Oh, yes, ma’am. They come and lay on my shoulder, come give me a hug; I get plenty of gifts, cards, flowers, candy, you name it. They’re all very respectful, and I am friends with a few of them on Facebook. They send pics when they get married or whatever else they do. They ask me how I do it, and I’m like, “It’s just me, don’t ask me how I do it.” I get up at 4 o’clock every morning on the dot, come in here to work, and wake up with a happy smile on my face and go to sleep with a happy smile on my face.
I don’t let the job stress me; don’t let nothing stress me out. I tell everybody, you got baggage, you leave that outside the door, and then at the end of the day, you pick your baggage up and take it home with you. A lot of the students’ brothers and sisters have been here before, and they’ll say, “Make sure you say hello to Ms. Peaches,” and then they’ll say their name and I recognize who they are. I’ll be like, “Yeah, that’s one of my babies.” I don’t call them by their name, I call ’em baby. If I’m not in this chair when they come around that corner, they’re like, “Where’s Ms. Peaches at?” I treat all of them like they are a part of me, and they are, they’re my VCU family, my Aramark family. Nobody goes hungry under my watch.
RM: How did you earn the nickname Peaches?
Cherry: I got the name from downstairs when I was the cashier. I didn’t want to give up my name, and my co-workers kept coming to me and I said, “You know what, just call me Peaches.” But I stay peached up all the time, because when you’re peachy, no matter what kind of day you’re having, nobody is going to know. Always peached up, that’s my motto.
RM: Why have you stuck with this job at the college?
Cherry: That’s easy, the students — the students make me happy. They treat me the same, I treat them all the same, no discrimination, none of that. I don’t have nothing but love. They’re just like my children, and I take care of them the same way I treat my children. Love customer service, I love it — it’s a family niche.
RM: Why is your role so important?
Cherry: Because when [students] first come here and have lunch for the first time, I’m the first person they see; I have to make that connection with them. They have to know someone will be stable in their life; I’m a stable person. You gotta make that connection, once you make that connection with them, it’s all they need.
