Taylor Crawford, a University of Mississippi student in the nutrition and hospitality program from Saint Simon’s Island, Georgia, whips ingredients for lemon pound cake for a Lenoir Dining service. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services
Interactive learning lab feeds Ole Miss campus and community
Hungry campus and community members can visit the Lenoir Dining interactive learning lab, a student-run restaurant in Lenoir Hall at the University of Mississippi.
Serving lunch at 11:30 am and 12:30 pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters, this full-service restaurant offers a three-course meal, complete with bread and a drink, for $12.
The menu changes weekly, so students have an opportunity to not only rotate through all stations of a full-service restaurant, but also gain exposure to changing menus and food. In the past, menus have ranged from sustainable, locally sourced meats and vegetables to Korean barbecue and Cajun comfort food. Each menu also includes a vegetarian option.
“My favorite meal is the shrimp and grits, hands, down,” said Kelley Jenkins, assistant to the dean of the School of Applied Sciences and a regular Lenoir Dining patron. “If it’s on the menu, it is definitely what I will be getting.”
Diners can visit the program’s website, view menus and make a reservation for lunch at https://nhm.olemiss.edu/welcome-to-lenoir-dining/lenoir-dining/.
Off-campus guests are welcome. Gift certificates to Lenoir Dining are also available, and many departments purchase them to award to faculty, staff and students throughout the year.
“We have the ability to rent the entire dining room for lunch meetings or recruiting lunches serving up to 40 people,” said Dru Jones, chef instructor and food specialist. “We also offer private lunch dining for more formal departmental meetings with seating of up to 12 guests.
“Private dining options are available daily, Monday through Friday. We enjoy working with you to meet the needs of your functions, departmental faculty-staff meetings or celebrations.”
The experiential learning experience is not complete without patrons. As an extension of teaching, this interactive learning lab includes a feedback comment card at the end of each meal.
By Reese Colaluca
