As of 21 July 2014, the new university canteen in Building X will offer expanded dining options with a reconceptualized style of serving

On Friday 18 July 2014, members of the university community dined at the canteen for the last time in almost 39 years. That following weekend, the canteen moved to its new location in Building X. On Monday, 21 July, the new canteen opened its doors to hungry students and staff. In addition to providing a wider selection of meal options, the new cafeteria offers a new style of serving in which guests can largely put their own meals together.

The closing of the former canteen was commemorated by presenting the last dining tray to a guest who had eaten lunch there almost daily since it first opened. On the former canteen’s last day in service, each diner had the option of giving back his or her used tray and, in return for a small donation, receiving a clean one to keep. Donations went towards setting up a “kid’s corner” in the new canteen. Those who donated also had the option of giving away their tray to a social aide organization that will use the trays in providing disaster response assistance. All remaining trays were recycled for reuse in building insulation.

The opening day of new canteen in Building X brought with it some changes. Instead of serving food on pre-portioned trays, food is now served on dinner plates and soup plates atop carrying trays. Small dishes for sides, which were already available in the old canteen, can also be found here. The most significant change is the style of serving: instead of serving full, pre-portioned meals on a conveyor belt, visitors can now put together their own meals by choosing each part individually from different stations. In the future, food will also be plated fresh and served directly to each individual diner.

Diners at the new canteen can now choose their lunch from different serving lines and stations. What was formerly called “Menü II” has been replaced with “Mensa Kulinarisch”. “Mensa Vital” is a new meal option that lists the nutritional information (calories, fat, protein, and carbohydrates) in the menu. For this reason, it is only available as a complete meal—guests do not chose their individual sides. “Mensa Kulinarisch,” however, allows diners to select their sides from among a variety of options. These sides are not included in the price of “Mensa Kulinarisch.” A vegetarian option called “Menü vegetarisch” and a daily special (comparable to the “Menü” at the old canteen) can also be chosen. As before, a soup option and expanded salad bar are available. Diners will also find new serving stations with special offers, pasta, side orders, and a dessert buffet.

By the way, the University’s Facebook site is hosting a competition for the best ideas for “a new life for cafeteria trays.” Read more at: www.uni-bielefeld.de/bau/portal/mensa-tabletts_web.pdf

More information on the new cafeteria can be found at: www.studentenwerkbielefeld.de/fileadmin/inhalt/PDF/Flyer/Mensa_X_140709.indd.pdf