SAGE employees work diligently to ensure quality dining-hall experiences for the community. Photo by Jenny Guo/The Choate News
Every day, SAGE Dining Services is tasked with organizing, preparing, and serving three meals for the Choate community. This involves significant work and an intricate organizational system to keep things running smoothly.
Behind this daily operation are sixty-five staff members and four managers: Food Service Director Mr. Paul Kikosicki, Production Manager Mr. Jay Goodmaster, Executive Chef Mr. Ryan Citarella, and Catering Manager Ms. Kelly Groth. Each dedicates tremendous amounts of time and energy to ensuring that the dining hall is clean, accessible, and provides a variety of food options that meet students’ dietary needs.
Members of the SAGE staff start preparing food at 5:00 a.m.and finish cleaning the dining hall at 9:00 p.m.. SAGE is also in charge of coming up with menu cycles, working closely with dieticians and members of the community. Mr. Citarella, along with other members of the management team, draft a potential menu that is then sent to SAGE’s home office for review. The goal is to provide students with balanced meals that also offer a wide selection of choices for people with different dietary restrictions. SAGE’s menus adapt according to student preferences as well as various Choate initiatives, such as “Veg-Out Monday” and “Burger Day.” Mr. Kikosicki reflected, “Over the past three years, the relationship between SAGE and the community has grown a great deal. Being more visible to the community and being on committees such as the Dining Hall Committee allow us to foster more relationships with people on campus.”
The staff works together to coordinate day-to-day operations: “There’s a deep sense of teamwork. For example, when our main elevator was broken down, and we needed to get food from the basement to the dining hall, staff members all worked together to transport it. Everyone has each others’ backs to make happen what happens every day,” said Mr. Kikosicki.
The staff consists of people who have been working at Choate for many years, as well as fairly new members. The staff enjoys each others’ company regardless of seniority, which cultivates a positive atmosphere. “It’s always fun saying ‘hi’ to everyone when we come into work,” said Mr. Michael McGloin, who works at the different food stations.
SAGE staff is just as connected to the Choate student body as they are to their own community. “Since my six years of being here, I’ve really enjoyed the students’ positive attitudes, and I like getting to know their different cultures and personalities. Overall, there’s a really friendly and family-like environment that I feel included in,” said Mr. Ivan Garcia, who works at the grill.
The staff loves getting to know students and building lasting bonds with them. Ms. Trisha Burnell, who rotates between food stations, said, “The hardest part about my job is saying goodbye to the seniors. I loved seeing them grow up. They started here when I started here, so it’s going to be hard when they leave.”
Going forward, SAGE hopes to continue building good relationships with the student body and communicating with the students in order to create positive dining hall experiences for everyone.
