Welcome to Stanford Dining!

As the Executive Director of the Stanford Dining, I would like to welcome you to our award-winning and culinary-focused department. Stanford Dining is committed to Creating a Culture of Excellence and truly believes students come first and are the reason we are here. Through our extraordinary partnership with students we are creating sustainable dining models which have an effect on sustaining the environment at Stanford and beyond the campus. You will find that Stanford Dining has created a Culture of Excellence with our talented team of chefs, managers and service staff who are ready to serve you. I encourage you to discuss any particular needs with my team; they are here to make your dining experience extraordinary.

At Stanford, student community is fostered through breaking bread together in the dining halls to create a living and learning environment outside the classrooms. This is a founding principle that dates to the inception of the university and to Stanford’s belief in engaging a community of scholars. Each one of the 10 exceptional and unique dining halls contributes to the core purpose of student community building.

Stanford Dining’s mission is in partnership with Residential Education. We work closely with Resident Fellows and RAs in coordinated efforts to create community for students in a shared living/learning environment and to have fun activities that are tailored to each of the dining halls.

Our student friendly website, http://dining.stanford.edu provides a one-stop-shop locale for you to view and manage your meal plan, track your transactions of meal plan dollars, change your meal plan or sign-up for Cardinal Dollars, which you can use at the various Stanford Hospitality & Auxiliaries retail cafés, http://hospitality.stanford.edu conveniently located throughout campus.

Stanford Dining's Arrillaga Family Dining Commons is the first dining hall to be built on the Stanford campus in almost 20 years. This state-of-the-art, two-story dining facility has incorporated the best in culinary, sustainability, technology and community building design. While still under construction, it won First Place in the Montague Suite Dreams Design Challenge.

This two-story dining hall primarily supports Toyon and Crothers students. The meal plan, sustainability and nutritionist’s offices will be located at this dining hall. Arrillaga Family Dining Commons will offer Wellness and Performance dining, which was developed in partnership with Stanford Athletics, School of Medicine and the Culinary Institute of America. This involves synergistic food combinations and promotion of antioxidants and other nutrients to help students perform at their mental and physical peak.

Approaching wellness from a holistic perspective, the Arrillaga Family Dining Commons has a multipurpose room with a sprung floor that is designed to host classes such as yoga, pilates and dance. There is a group study room that houses a projection screen and seats between 25 and 30 students. There is also a creative collaboration room that can function as a classroom, brainstorming space or relaxation room. Wellness kiosks will provide students with information on keeping the mind, body and spirit healthy and balanced.

We will be offering continuous meal service as part of a pilot program at Arrillaga Family Dining Commons on weekdays, serving meals between breakfast and lunch, and lunch and dinner. This will allow students who are not able to make the traditional meal times due to class schedules, etc., the ability to eat a full meal.

In addition, The Dish late night dining at Stern has moved to the new dining hall and will be open seven nights a week from 9 pm to 2 am. The Dish @ Arrillaga offers a varied late night menu, from hot wings and pizza to a new Fit & Healthy menu that includes items such as pesto turkey wrap and high protein berry yogurt parfait.

This year, Stern Dining Hall will introducing Cardinal Sage, a Mexican/Latin American station which features dishes such as achiote-spiced chicken and roasted pineapple and chipotle salsa. Some of these menu items will also be featured at The Dish @ Arrillaga.

The Star Ginger station at Wilbur Dining hall and at Late Night at Lakeside Dining, will kick off its second year with an updated menu focusing on Southeast Asian comfort foods such as banh mi sandwiches, salad rolls, comforting stir fries and noodles.

You can also review nutritional information, food origin, hours of operation or send us a note via Let us Know. As part of our sustainable efforts we serve 100 percent cage free eggs and purchase over 15,000 lbs of wild Alaska salmon to serve in the dining halls. Sustainability is a way of life in Stanford Dining. During your first week, stop by the cashier’s stand in your dining hall for your complimentary, reusable water bottle to welcome you and encourage sustainability efforts on the campus. Our sustainable metrics are online in our Sustainability Report (pdf).

We are hiring Dining Ambassadors (DAs) and other student positions. This highly successful student employment program encourages two way dialogue, fun programs and focus on the individual needs of each of the houses. If you would like to be a Dining Ambassador or apply for any other student position, the application information is here.

We look forward to getting to know you, serving you great food and having an outstanding year at Stanford!

At your service,

Eric Montell
Executive Director
Stanford Dining