The Dining Experience Is Unique For The MICDS School Community

A couple of years ago, Mary Institute Country Day School contracted its food service with Flik Independent School Dining.

Almost all students, faculty and administrators would tell you that was a wise choice.

Parents invest heavily to send their children to MICDS, pre-kindergarten at Beasley School through the 12th grade at the high school. Expectations among students and parents are high in all areas.

The food service by Flik is in good hands.
 
This is not Taco Bell or the U.S. Army dining experience. When students bust through the doors in the Alumni Dining Hall, they have multiple choices to experience.

Food service includes the traditional hot and cold plates at the steam table serving line, but diners can choose from a sandwich deli bar, a fresh salad bar, drink stations even a concession to a bit of excess, a soft serve station.

The fountain station has choices of beverages such as milk, tea and fruit drinks and flavored water, but not a soda in sight. There are no soda machines on campus. Rather, students plug the machines with cash for a variety of sports drinks.

“If students would have their way, they would have burgers, fries, dogs and pizza every day,” said Head Chef John Litwicki at the secondary campus. “But they can’t always have it that way. We give them lots of healthy choices. We offer a lot of vegetarian dishes. We make our soups from scratch using fresh products, and we don’t use any preservatives,” he said.

Filk operates three dining services at MICDS including one at the  middle school and at the lower-level Beasley School. Filk has 18 employees and two supervisors on campus.

Bob Mast operates out of the middle school kitchen and is area supervisor in St. Louis for Flik.

“I love it here. They have great people. I’ve been in food and beverage service my entire life, and this is the best job I’ve had,” Mast said.

Flik is not without its critics.

“The kids palates are still developing, but all the faculty and staff eat here every day, and their palates are more mature. They know what they like and what they don’t. And if they don’t, they will tell us. We thrive on feedback about our quality of food and service,” Mast said.

The high school kids like grab-and-go items. They will stuff their pockets with oranges, apples, bananas and other fruits as they scurry back to class.

Flik people are on campus from early morning to late at night. They serve a wide variety of functions such as sports banquets, coaches meetings, faculty coffees, and even the regular meetings of the board of directors.

MICDS is free to bring in outside services for banquets and the like, but doesn't.

”We make things they really like, and you can’t beat our prices,” Mast said. Recently, they had a complete pasta sports banquet, charging $10 a head."

Mast works closely with MICDS’ CFO Becky Young on menu items, pricing, service and other food-service options.

Students will be glad to tell you what they like best. Here’s a top 10 of student choices:Crispy chicken sandwich

• Hamburgers with all the fixings

• Pasta selections

• Tacos

• Salad bar with lots of fresh vegetables

• The deli bar with eye-of-round roast beef sandwiches

• Made from scratch soups

• Turkey breasts

• Wraps

• Made from scratch pizza

“I love working here. This is a great place, and you get to serve great people,” Litwicki said. “Besides, they have a beautiful campus, and when I get a spare moment, I walk around to enjoy it,” he said.

At MICDS, administrators believe healthy minds and healthy bodies make for better students. Flik Independent School Dining is making that happen every day of the school week.