The temperature raises monumentally as you cross from the seating area of Eugene Lang’s cafeteria into the linoleum floored hub. This is where sushi is neatly rolled and food bakes under florescent heat lamps. Students collide and push past each other as they make their way through the narrow tunnel that connects the drink cases and Moo-Bella ice cream machine to the sushi bar. Amidst the madness of indie hipster students fiending to satisfy their hunger, sits Joy. To the students of The New School, Joy is the face of “dining” when it comes to on-campus meals. Her auburn pony weave loosely bound with a hair net, her unrelenting jolliness, and her “thank you my ladies” with every credit card or meal plan transaction epitomizes the cafeteria experience at Lang. However, if you were to ask Joy who was responsible for the endless trays of bakes zitti, the tantalizing spicy mayo, the pre-packaged sandwiches, or the veggie lo-main she would not say herself. Joy would casually tell you, Heath “the Purdue chicken man.” This is a name Joy as coined due to Heath’s uncanny resemblance of Frank Perdue from the Perdue chicken commercials. However, the magical oz-like character who is rarely seen, or recognized, by students is more commonly referred to as Heath Bernstein.
Bernstein is charismatic and professional. He is more than willing to answer any questions a student may have. Whether its involving his marriage of nineteen years, his Doberman thats terrified of his Chihuahua, his sixteen year old son or thirteen year old daughter, or his area of expertise: food.
Bernstein started working at The New School in April of 2011 after he applied to the job through the New York Times. This was not his first campus dining job. Prior to working for The New School he worked as an area manager supervising food services at other universities.
Since he started working for the university he has made some changes to the dining services. Without Berstein there may be no to-go sandwiches and salads, a hot food menu filled with regional and American cuisine, or a Moo-Bella ice cream machine.
One aspect of the food services at The New School that Bernstein did not initiate but still implements is the universities use of local and organic foods. Although the students are informed that the food is local, organic, and fair-trade, there is still some mystery left as to where the food comes from. The meat and fish come from a local distributor called AFI. They provide the university with sustainable seafood, and antibiotic free, organic meats whenever they have them available. When the vegetables are in season, they come from local farmers as well. When a vegetable is not in season or unavailable, the chefs use high quality frozen ones instead.
Bernstein and the head chef work together to create the menu based on student requests, and current trends. The menu is created at the beginning of the semester and rotates on a four week cycle.
Bernstein takes great pride in the food that the New School produces. He explained that the Health Department does not require the university to dispose of pre-wrapped sandwiches and salads for a week after they are made. However, in order to maintain their freshness Bernstein instructs his crew to dispose of them at the end of the second day they have sat on the shelf.
Not only does Bernstein take pride in the food, but he really cares about the way the food services department functions. Arriving to work around seven am, he makes his rounds from kitchen to kitchen. He makes sure everything is being made correctly, and neatly. He makes sure everything gets out on time, and that all catering orders are set. He makes sure to greet each employee and check to see that they have arrived to work and are not in need of anything. If you ask Joy, she’ll tell you that she has never seen someone in Bernstein’s position so involved in every aspect of the food services. So while joy patiently wraps Murray’s bagels early in the morning, you may be able to catch Heath Bernstein popping his head in to check up on her. You may see him monitoring the drink case or having a conversation with the sushi chefs. You may catch a glimpse of Heath Bernstein just in time to see him heading on to the next kitchen or back to his office. And if you don’t get to see Bernstein, theres a good chance you can always find Joy.
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