Crescent-News.com - Wright ingredients yield fun times for DC foodies

By ANGELA ASSAF

cnlife@crescent-news.com

HICKSVILLE -- Becky Wright does not like to see anyone go hungry. She is always cooking up new ways to feed students at Defiance College while also nourishing their sense of school pride.

From boxed lunches for athletes and pre-game meals to Texas-size burger-eating contests, to more presidential fare, Wright has a knack for keeping food interesting.

"I love everything about food. I'm not a great cook, but I come up with a lot of good ideas," deadpans Wright, who works as general manager of food service for Sodexho at DC. (Sodexho is the leading provider of food and facilities management in North America.)

The menu and also the monthly promotions seen throughout the year in the cafeteria are the product of Sodexho's corporate headquarters in Gaithersburg, Md.

Wright has the fun job of mixing it up to appeal to her target demographic.

"Sodexho is huge on stopping world hunger," she notes. "One of the biggest projects we do is the Service-On campaign in April when we have all kinds of events to collect food for the local food pantries."

Last year's "Swipe Out Hunger" was a bit hit with the students, she remarks.

"Students swiped their cards, but did not eat. The money that would have been used for the preparation of the food was used to buy canned goods."

Athletes donated cans of food in exchange for pies to throw at their coaches.

Since Wright came aboard at DC in October 2006 there have been quite a few changes worthy of note.

"We have one of the most diverse staffs that the college has ever seen," which was kind of her goal.

"It takes many different flavors to create a full-course meal. I have people from all walks of life ... I don't believe in stereotyping. ... It has been my experience that the least likely person is the one that excels at a job.

"I'm the thinker -- they're the doers. I come up with some pretty wild recipes sometimes, but my staff knows how to adapt them for the menu."

Wright presently has three supervisors and a host of "foodies" which round out her culinary team.

Ghada, who is Arabian, has been her production supervisor for several years. She followed Wright from Georgetown University in Georgetown, Md., where they previously worked together in catering.

"Ghada is a whiz in the kitchen. She is the closest thing I have to a chef. She is very skilled in what she does and I challenge those skills a lot."

Andrew Metz, a Defiance native, began working for Sodexho several years ago, then parted with the company briefly and has recently rejoined.

Jan Price of Pioneer is the retail supervisor. She is the newest addition to the staff, having joined about the same time as Wright.

Most of the staff have been there for a number of years.

Mary Leonard, the baker, has been turning out her signature handmade desserts for 32 years.

"She makes everything that my grandma used to make -- only better. I don't recall my grandma ever making cream puffs that looked like swans.

"Mary is also food trendy. It amazes me that after all these years she still has new ideas every day. And not only is she a skilled baker, she cares a lot about the students."

Kathy Britton has been the cashier for 31 years. "She's your typical lunch lady," Wright chortles. "She knows every student and every item that is on the menu."

Leonard and Britton have been conjuring up a new cafeteria theme for the Christmas season every year. This holiday they created a wintry woodland setting with cardinals. A menagerie of sweets, from chocolate tuxedoed mice to Yuletide log, greeted cafeteria goers to the annual Christmas feast held last week. The duo began their mass baking six weeks in advance of the event, one of the most heavily trafficked nights of the year.

Wright has no formal training in the culinary arts. Her expertise comes from her close relationship with food going back to her childhood and own creative sense.

"Growing up we had a lot of fun times with food. My dad was a salesman for a produce broker. He would always bring home fresh fruits and vegetables and samples of new foods for us to try. My parents also made a point of taking us to different types of restaurants."

After high school Wright half-heartedly enrolled in college at DC, but decided that it was not for her. After marrying her husband, Harley, she made her foray into the food service industry as manager for Bob Evans in the Fort Wayne area, but found working for a large restaurant chain to be too confining.

Out of the blue she applied for a job with Sodexho where she found her food niche at last.

Wright has worked with chefs in all areas in different regions around the country and in various settings, but admits the college campus is her scene.

"I get to work on a beautiful campus, work with the best ingredients and be creative with food, and work with some great people."

Previous to now she worked as catering director at Bellarmine University, Louisville, Ky., and also Georgetown University.

Ironically as her knowledge grew and her taste changed, so did her hunger for hometown living.

"It was something that was meant to happen. I felt that I had learned enough being out in the world that I could come back home and be successful."

Wright and her husband live in Hicksville. Together they have five adult sons: Aaron, Brian, Jeremy, Shane and Frankie. They have six grandchildren, the oldest of which at age 6 is already falling in her food steps.

"My grandson is a foodie like me. He likes to watch the cooking shows on TV. He's even told me that he wants to be a chef when he grows up."

For now he is satisfied just helping grandma make Christmas cookies and candy and a gingerbread house.

Looking ahead to 2008, Wright and her staff are working to launch Heritage Month to showcase various cuisine from cultures around the globe.

They tested out the idea earlier this year with hosting a Hispanic Month that included some special events.

After the widely successful Texas-size burger-eating challenge in which students competed to see who could scarf down a 7-pound, fully loaded cheeseburger (16 inches in diameter), Wright has come up with a taco-eating contest in which the students have to make their own tacos while blindfolded.

Wright is bringing breakfast back big time to DC.

Starting new this year, the cafeteria will be open to the community for brunch on Sundays from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

The all-you-can-eat smorgasbord includes a carving station with roast beef and chicken, soup and salad bar, sweet shop (with freshly made cinnamon rolls), made-to-order omelets, plus breakfast favorites like gravy and biscuits, a pizza and pasta bar, and Mary's specialty desserts.

"It has been slow taking off, but we've had a few people and they have been very happy with the food. Hopefully after the holidays more people will give us a try."

The cafeteria will be closed Dec. 23 and 30 and will reopen after the first of the year.