Who supplies Amtrak's Food?

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DevalDragon

Train Attendant
Joined
Dec 26, 2015
Messages
74
Location
Chicagoland
I'm on the Zephyr on the moment and they're using plasticware from Sysco. Who supplies to Amtrak's commissaries to provision the trains? Does Amtrak prepare the food in their commissaries or does the vendor deliver it pre-prepared?
 
Does Amtrak prepare the food in their commissaries or does the vendor deliver it pre-prepared?
In a number of cases the vendor prepares it to specifications required by Amtrak for re-heating on board.

Here are 2 example.

The 1st one if made by Carlas Pasta.

http://www.amtrakfoodfacts.com/restimg2/force/template/1/Amtrak__Food_Facts/w459/h337/AMFF-FALL-2017-30.pdf

The 2nd example is the current vegetarian option,and it is made by Pasta Mia.

http://www.amtrakfoodfacts.com/restimg2/force/template/1/Amtrak__Food_Facts/w459/h337/AMFF-FALL-2017-32.pdf

Ken
 
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I believe those two dishes may now be of great interest to Neroden. He's been clamoring for ingredients in AmFood for a very long time... And behold, those have the ingredients listed!
 
YESSSSSSSS
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So, this isn't perfect, but it's a great help.

I can definitely eat the Butternut Squash Risotto. That's a complete ingredients list YAY!

The Vegan Rigatoni unfortunately includes the following "ingredients" which need their own ingredients lists:

"vegan cream cheese" (likely to have guar gum in it)

"non-dairy butter flavor" (could have absolutely anything in it)

So it really was primarily a matter of managing to get the message to the right people. I must thank them (...after my next trip).
 
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Does Amtrak prepare the food in their commissaries or does the vendor deliver it pre-prepared?

The 2nd example is the current vegetarian option,and it is made by Pasta Mia.

http://www.amtrakfoodfacts.com/restimg2/force/template/1/Amtrak__Food_Facts/w459/h337/AMFF-FALL-2017-32.pdf
It has always interested me that so many vegan & vegetarian entrees seem to emulate carnivorous ones. Vegan sausage, veggie burger, etc, etc but I have yet to see anyone advertising "meaty broccoli" (delicious broccoli-like taste, aroma and flavor made with genuine beef and pork) or "carnivoran asparagus" (tastes like asparagus broiled on the grill). Just wondering.
 
The fact that a vegetarian dish is sausage or burger shaped has nothing to do with the taste! Only the worst processed vegetarian food tries to mimic meat flavors. Most vegetarians would be happy with a plate of tasty fresh grilled veg and a nice sauce, served with a good crusty bread roll... a simple wholefood option, but hard to find aboard Amtrak trains.

I don't know which part of the pig goes into your genuine pork sausages, but I wish you bon appetite
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Ed.
 
I believe most of it is sourced from Aramark, but I could be wrong.....
That's correct. And Aramark sources most things from Sysco. The only food item that's available on every train with Amtrak cafe service (that I know of), that doesn't come directly from Sysco, is the cheese tray, which is actually built by Aramark in the commissary.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Amtrak Forum mobile app
 
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Same for the NY centric addons on the Empire Service trains with cafe service. I was sort of thinking of the DownEaster, not sure if that one was the outlier.
Downeaster is indeed different--the NNEPRA contracts with a different company to supply the food. I think the staffing is also supplied by the contractor, but I'm not certain.
 
Same for the NY centric addons on the Empire Service trains with cafe service. I was sort of thinking of the DownEaster, not sure if that one was the outlier.
Downeaster is indeed different--the NNEPRA contracts with a different company to supply the food. I think the staffing is also supplied by the contractor, but I'm not certain.
Correct on the staffing not being provided by amtrak. At least that was the case when I last rode a few years ago. Nice menu... lots of local selections.
 
Same for the NY centric addons on the Empire Service trains with cafe service. I was sort of thinking of the DownEaster, not sure if that one was the outlier.
Downeaster is indeed different--the NNEPRA contracts with a different company to supply the food. I think the staffing is also supplied by the contractor, but I'm not certain.
Yuppers. That's why I didn't mention them. Amtrak has nothing to do with the Cafe service on the Downeaster, other than its our equipment.
 
The firms that supply the food to Amtrak and the same ones that supply the food to the federal bureau of prisons.. We need to lobby for the same food as sold in the Congressional cafeteria. Politicians receive it as part of their salary and you dare not see them eating Amtrak quality food
 
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Aramark also did food service for Congress. I have no knowledge of who their food service provider is (or if it's insourced) but most of the food service providers will do food service for pretty much any organization that will pay them, with the quality/level of food service that the company or governmental organization wants.

It really doesn't matter if Aramark also happens to cater the prison system - Aramark will happily provide whatever quality of food is desired on board as long as the proper funds are exchanged to allow for that quality of food. If Amtrak food is as bad as prison food, then that's a problem with Amtrak's level of funding to Aramark, not the fact that Aramark is the supplier.
 
The firms that supply the food to Amtrak and the same ones that supply the food to the federal bureau of prisons.. We need to lobby for the same food as sold in the Congressional cafeteria. Politicians receive it as part of their salary and you dare not see them eating Amtrak quality food
Huh? Why do Amtrak food discussions always seem to circle back to food served in prisons?
 
Wait... Are those delicious lamb shanks and grilled Mahi entrees being served to the prisoners now instead of me!? Revolt!!!! :)
 
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Aramark also did food service for Congress. I have no knowledge of who their food service provider is (or if it's insourced) but most of the food service providers will do food service for pretty much any organization that will pay them, with the quality/level of food service that the company or governmental organization wants. It really doesn't matter if Aramark also happens to cater the prison system - Aramark will happily provide whatever quality of food is desired on board as long as the proper funds are exchanged to allow for that quality of food. If Amtrak food is as bad as prison food, then that's a problem with Amtrak's level of funding to Aramark, not the fact that Aramark is the supplier.
Anyone who says Amtrak is as bad as prison food has inadvertently admitted they don't know anything about prison food. Last time I checked the US House cafeteria was managed by Sodexo while the Senate cafeteria was handled by Restaurant Associates. Aramark can make good food, insomuch as they have the necessary knowledge and ingredients, but in my experience it's rare that they actually do so. Most of their contracts are written in a way that limits costs and resources while focusing on streamlined preparation and storage. Doing business with Aramark may not preclude quality food, but it also doesn't do anything to promote it.
 
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Aramark also did food service for Congress. I have no knowledge of who their food service provider is (or if it's insourced) but most of the food service providers will do food service for pretty much any organization that will pay them, with the quality/level of food service that the company or governmental organization wants.
Apparently Sodexo (a French company BTW) for the House. The Senate has its own cafeteria.

https://thehouse.misofi.net

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/25/us/politics/washington-white-house-cafeteria.html

The food providers are philosophical about the reactions. “Undergoing any kind of change brings some challenges, nowhere more so than changes that affect one’s meal,” said David Cerbin, the House’s resident district manager for Sodexo, which replaced Restaurant Associates in June. (The Senate complex and the United States Capitol Visitor Center are still served by Restaurant Associates.)
 
The firms that supply the food to Amtrak and the same ones that supply the food to the federal bureau of prisons.. We need to lobby for the same food as sold in the Congressional cafeteria. Politicians receive it as part of their salary and you dare not see them eating Amtrak quality food
I know it's suppose to be a wise crack, but...Sysco also supplies many restaurants, including Subway. And seeing as I use to work in a college kitchen for Aramark, consuming Sysco products, I can tell you that the food can be quite decent. It's all a matter of what's ordered
Sent from my SM-G955U using Amtrak Forum mobile app
 
In my experience most by-the-book Aramark meals are very simple and not that tasty. It doesn't seem to matter if they're being prepared for Amtrak or a sports stadium or an employer's cafeteria. However, if an Aramark chef is allowed to experiment or take special requests they can create quality meals that are both fresh and delicious. Which honestly makes me feel bad for the chef. All that knowledge and creativity being reduced to unthinking robot style repetition for the benefit of bean counters.
 
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It's pretty obvious that Aramark, which is a multi-capacity provider of food services across a range of industries, can supply food of any quality that the client demands.

It won Tripadvisor awards for excellence in 2017 for 17 destinations:

https://www.aramark.com/about-us/news/destinations-cultural-attractions/tripadvisor-2017-certificate-of-excellence
Even at a stadium it's kind of hard to mess up pouring beer into a plastic cup.

I've been to some of their national park operations, but haven't really dined at one. My last visit to Yosemite was before they took over. I do remember seeing a lot of Centerplate workers on Capitol Corridor. They were working all week in preparation for a football game or a big concert at Levi's Stadium.
 
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