Welcome to the Friar Food Family: Raymond Dining Hall Takes On New General Manager

by The Cowl Editor on November 21, 2019


Campus


Ray Dining Hall is set for major upgrades
under new management. Nora Johnson ’20/the cowl

by Peter Mazzella ’22

News Staff

Recently Raymond Dining Hall welcomed a new general manager, Josef Quirinale, to its family. Although this is a new position for Quirinale, it is not his first position at Providence College, working as a resource manager last fall. 

Quirinale spent his career across the east coast working in the food industry. Working for Sodexo for almost 20 years, he has traveled to different schools to make dining experiences as good as they can be.

He started off at the University of Vermont, which set him up for new opportunities in the field. Following that, he continued his work at State Universiy of New York-Plattsburgh. His final position before PC was at Keene State College in New Hampshire.  

In his first semester as a general manager at Ray, Quirinale has enacted many changes, such as a full-time dietician, the Simple Servings station, and the hiring of a new chef. 

His first major change has been the acquisition of a dietician, Michelle Switach, who will be responsible for designing nutrition programs to ensure that each dish reflects a healthy diet, so that all students can have multiple options at each station for a balanced meal.  

Quirinale’s second change was helping to open the Simple Servings station, which is a station where all foods are free of the eight major allergens. Each employee who works at Simple Servings is AllerTrain certified by MenuTrinfo. 

Finally, the addition of a new chef to the team has brought many new options, along with the intent of the least amount of waste possible. In line with this new initiative, fresh food is now scheduled to be prepared according to how much is left over after students dine in.

One thing that Quirinale is looking to bring to Ray in the second semester is a smoothie bar, not only for Tuesday and Thursday, but for the whole week. He thinks this is a great way to start the day, and Ray is looking into ways to make this happen.  

Something that the staff is particularly excited about is the addition of fresh grilled chicken to the salad bar, where they will be removing the chicken from the grilling station by the burgers and reserving that grill for fresh hot sandwiches. This will bring many new dining options, along with burgers that will be fresh off the grill every time. 

Finally, something that is very important to Quirinale, as well as the rest of the staff, is the feedback they receive. He states, “It is your dining experience,” talking about PC students. Quirinale  said Ray is always looking to improve. The feedback forms in the dining hall are the main way that the staff can discuss changes that will bring an all-around better experience to each student.  

Quirinale spoke on his thoughts about the atmosphere that Ray tries to bring, which is consistent with PC’s emphasis on community. 

“I think it’s important that you have one dining facility that is a community space, where everyone can meet. Many campuses this size will have two or three resident dining facilities, but this brings everyone together.” 

In his first semester as general manager, Quirinale and his team have made many changes to improve the dining experience that most PC students have on a day-to-day basis. His close relationship with the staff at Ray is one of the main reasons for the success that has been accomplished this year.