Aramark also does corporate dining and health care. They can provide whatever your contract calls for at the negotiated price points. Meals are simple when that is what the client buys. I have had food for events that they catered for a group of hospitals where I worked that were elaborate and quite good, but the everyday cafeteria and patient fare was pretty plain.
Who supplies Amtrak's Food?
- Thread starter DevalDragon
- Start date
Help Support Amtrak Unlimited Discussion Forum:
Devil's Advocate
⠀⠀⠀
I think price is only part of the equation. In my view Aramark staff does a reasonably good job when they're able to prepare individual meals made to order. Unfortunately you rarely see that option in the typical Aramark setup. Instead you mainly see buffet style food prepared well in advance then then warmed under lights or over Sterno. In the case of Amtrak the menu is so locked down and the ingredients are so limited that there's very little the chef can do to improve the quality without running afoul of the rules. I think the main problem with businesses like Aramark is that you often have someone who isn't eating the food making a series of price focused selections from a corporate menu leaving the customers/guests/employees to suffer the results. The lack of any communication between the people choosing the meals and the people eating the meals insulates them from any problems and removes the incentive to further improve the experience.
Last edited by a moderator:
Green Maned Lion
Engineer
Aramark is primarily a logistics company. If you ask them to deliver x number of pieces of dry aged 8 oz sirloin of the finest quality, several containers of different spices, and the finest fresh potatoes and vegitables, that is what they will do, and how you prepare it is your business.
If you ask them to send you x number of pieces of pre-marinated unspecified steak, a packed steamable bag of unspecified vegetable medley, and a pack of premmade or instant mashed potatoes, they will do that, too, and the amount of preparation the chef is responsible for is limited.
If, as many corporate facilities do, you ask them to supply an entire cafeteria menu and the employees to staff and run it, for a guaranteed income or profit, they do that, to the specifications of the contract. My experience during a time in my life where I was day vendoring at corporate cafeterias is that the food varied a lot more campus to campus than whether it was Aramark, Sodexo, internal to the company, or a renting vendor trying to run a small business.
If you ask them to send you x number of pieces of pre-marinated unspecified steak, a packed steamable bag of unspecified vegetable medley, and a pack of premmade or instant mashed potatoes, they will do that, too, and the amount of preparation the chef is responsible for is limited.
If, as many corporate facilities do, you ask them to supply an entire cafeteria menu and the employees to staff and run it, for a guaranteed income or profit, they do that, to the specifications of the contract. My experience during a time in my life where I was day vendoring at corporate cafeterias is that the food varied a lot more campus to campus than whether it was Aramark, Sodexo, internal to the company, or a renting vendor trying to run a small business.
Perhaps I say this in jest but a while back I looked at the federal prisons food menu and it looked better than Amtrak's. I believe that too has been cheapened but I would bet $1000 if anyone could prove that the Congressional cafeteria serves the same quality of food as Amtrak. The point is that in their view Amtrak food is good for us, but not good for them.
Last edited by a moderator:
Green Maned Lion
Engineer
That is the nature of anyone who has sufficient arrogance to not only think they should run for office, but to pursue the gruellung process of succeeding at it.
My understanding is Aramark has the contract to operate the commissaries and provide the logistics of receiving, storing and delivering/removing all commissary supplies to/from the trains. Amtrak buys and owns the actual inventory from the steaks to the plates. You won't see Aramark products unless Amtrak separately contracts for the purchase of those specific Aramark goods.
NorthShore
Conductor
All I want for Christmas is for Levy to operate Amtrak food services!
http://www.levyrestaurants.com/restaurants/
http://www.levyrestaurants.com/restaurants/
trainman74
Conductor
I don't see why they'd be any better (or worse) than Aramark, or any other foodservice company. The restaurants shown on the page you linked are something totally different than what they'd be able to do for Amtrak, given the budgetary and operational limitations they'd be working under.
I'm familiar with Levy from baseball stadium concession stands -- and to me, they don't particularly stand out any more than any other concession contractor.
NorthShore
Conductor
I've, generally, found the quality of food and service at just about any/all Levy owned or operated endeavors to be excellent, and a cut above. Perhaps, I've been able to sample their stuff a bit more extensively here in the Chicago area, where they appear to be primarily centered, and have numerous food services. I'd particularly recommend what they do at Ravinia and on the club level of Sox Park.
As for the restaurants on that page, I was really just offering a general link to their site, for anyone unfamiliar with the company. But, as you note, they run everything from quality restaurants to stadium fare. As such, I'd simply like to see what kind of magic they might be able to work with Amtrak, and if that might not somehow elevate things. I know that, if I were informed that the food services were a Levy operation, I'd be anxious to try it!
Last edited by a moderator:
