Recharged Rooted vegan cuisine concept debuts at Stony Brook University - CulinArt Group

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Recharged Rooted vegan cuisine concept debuts at Stony Brook University

As published in Food Management, March 5, 2021 – CulinArt has added new menu options focused on wellness and sustainability at its Rooted 100% vegan platform at Stony Brook University.

Rooted is an existing station concept operated by management company CulinArt at Stony Brook University in New York. This spring, the concept was enhanced with new dishes that play off what was being offered at the nearby Chef’s Table station, but with a vegan twist, so Rooted’s three-week menu cycle includes global cuisines such as Indian, Middle Eastern, African and many other regions and countries around the world.

Also new is an extension of the Rooted station called Plantiful Table that incorporates the options of a salad green, grain and “energizer” component such as beans, lentils, seeds and various toppings, so instead of simple side salads, students can have staff build composed salads with only the items they enjoy, thus limiting food waste and the use of additional plastic containers.

“We added the Plantiful Table and new Rooted recipes to incorporate more plant-based beginnings into student lifestyles,” explains Laura Martorano, MS, RD, CDN.  “A student can be a flexitarian, vegetarian, carnivore or just someone who wants to eat healthier, and it enables them to have more choices.”

The approach of using staff service to construct the customized salads is a necessity given the current environment, she adds.

“Self-service salad stations were removed because of COVID restrictions, so it is nice to be able to offer a customizable salad station again in these challenging times. I felt that adding composed salads back into the dine-in program was important because it enables students to be creative with their meals and it offers a plant-base start to any meal.”

The recharged Rooted was developed in response to customer demand, Martorano says.

“Each semester the Faculty Student Association collects feedback about student preferences through our online feedback forms, social media channels, QR codes in the dining locations and students connecting with dining managers at the location. The fall semester has shown that many students are looking for tasty ways to add more plant-based foods into their diet.”

Rooted offers two different entrée choice specials for lunch and dinner each day while Plantiful Table has different greens, grains and toppings each day.

Rooted and Plantiful are available at both campus dine-in locations.

“I like offering different menu items at each location so there is more variety on campus,” Martorano offers. “It can also be a motivating factor for the students to get more exercise by walking across campus, especially with many classes being online!”

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  • April 14, 2021
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What our clients are saying

“What a wonderful dinner we had tonight for our international families. The food was delicious and well presented as well.”

“Thank you for including me today in the food waste demonstration/[chef competition] and flattering me with the role of “judge.” I will proudly don the [Stop Food Waste Day] apron the next time I plan an “event” in our own kitchen. I think this is a very worthwhile cause and the statistics you read off are staggering. They, alone, can intimidate a home chef, let alone be the “driver’ for a professional one.”

“Thank you and your staff for all the care and thought you give CSW adults and students. You approach events with such care and elegance- I don’t know how you do it! Especially day after day. Please thank all your staff for their wonderful work and kind manner with all of us. Here is to a great year!”

“Many, and I do mean many, thanks for a great Parents Weekend.  I heard from so many happy parents and you all work very hard to make it happen.  In gratitude and kindness…”

“We are so thankful and so impressed by your immediate attention to our power outage. It was such a relief to see all the equipment and workers coming in within a few hours of the outage. Thank you for serving dinner to all [the] students in a very difficult circumstance. Please extend our thanks to your workers who braved cold weather to grill hamburgers and hotdogs.”

“With all the prep work from Winterim ramping up and classes continuing as usual, it's a busy time to be a Forman teacher. Imagine my delight, tired as I was, when I delved into the upscale-restaurant-quality chicken parmesan our dining hall served last night. Forman is all about support, and providing our students with a dinner of that quality is just as important a measure of support as anything that happens in a classroom.”

“I can’t thank your entire team enough for the outstanding service, food, displays, everything!  You are a master at detail, and because of that Adam and I were able to focus on the parents.  I know what a sacrifice pulling off a weekend like this means, we are so appreciative and grateful to you all for your talent and generosity.”

“I ALWAYS feel spoiled by the meal offerings at CSW (The Cambridge School of Weston) and am entirely grateful for it. As I eat today's delicious and lavish lunch (and think about yesterday's as well), I can't tell you how much I feel so well cared for here, both with the food and by the dining hall staff. CSW cares for us in so many ways, both big and small.”

“Thank You! Chef Budd [and team], you overcame a new online ordering system (and hundreds of labels daily!), provided creative and healthy menus, continued to connect with local farmers to incorporate locally sourced ingredients, and worked tirelessly to serve the school community on three campuses.  While it feels like you are all a little like the Wizard of Oz right now, working behind a curtain in a kitchen far away, we sense your smiles and your passion to deliver the best possible service during these trying times. We are all so grateful!”

“I will say that CulinArt has always been a very collaborative partner to T. Rowe Price, listening to our current needs and future goals and suggesting realistic and achievable strategies to meet those goals.  2020 was obviously no exception.  CulinArt also altered other areas of our OCS and pantry programs to create safer environments for all our associates. We can only thank you for your continued flexibility and innovative ideas through these difficult times.”

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