CulinArt Chef-Manager Tim Bellair. Photo: Mr. John Spear.
Northwood has made some significant changes for the 2024-2025 school year. One of the bigger ones for students is the new food service, CulinArt. It has only been a few weeks since students arrived on campus, but many students have already developed a strong appreciation for this new food service.
As a school for top athletes, nutrition plays a massive role in the development and performance of the teams on campus. At the end of the last school year, there were many requests from students to get healthier options for meals. One of CulinArt’s goals is to give healthier options to athletes.
Head chef Tim Bellair says that he understands the demand on athletes and said, “You guys burn 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day. You guys need fuel and power.” He also said that the menu had been created in collaboration with coaches to provide the student-athletes the best mix of protein, carbs, and low-fat foods.
CulinArt has already made lots of changes in the dining hall, which the students have enjoyed. “The protein bowl or power bowl section they added” is Shane Tronoski’s ’25 favorite addition. “Also, the watermelon and cottage cheese at breakfast, I really like that,” Tronoski added.
“The steak in the grain bar,” is Gus Garvey’s ’25 favorite addition. “Also I am a big fan of them leaving the doors open more often. I sit in there and do a lot of schoolwork, and it seems they are more open to letting students go in to grab snacks or drinks at any time during the day,” he added.
Northwood also had a formal dinner on Wednesday, September 11th. Formal dinners consist of all the students dressing up and being served a higher quality dinner than normal. Reviews for this meal were a little mixed. “I thought it was really good. Everything I ate was excellent,” Tronoski said. On the other side, Gus Garvey thought the formal was okay, and his main takeaway was, “This is the first formal that they have ever run out of red meat. This is my fourth year and it’s the first time that has happened.” Chef Tim has acknowledged this issue and said he “severely underestimated how much the students would eat, but that won’t happen again.”
Although the reviews have been mostly positive, there will always be complaints. The biggest complaints I have heard from walking around the school consist of no pasta bar, quesadilla bar, or rice during lunch. Garvey mentioned, “There’s no hot chocolate machine,” when he was asked about his least favorite part of the new dining hall.
Bellair stressed the importance of feedback from the students. He made it very clear that all feedback is appreciated and he is here to make our meals enjoyable. He also mentioned that an app will be coming soon where students can review meals on their phones. Bellair wants everyone to know that he is still learning and will continue to improve and resolve any issues.
