The welcome mat is out at Vita Nova

Joe DiGregorio, executive chef and director of education for HRIM’s food service labs and general manager/director of restaurant operations

3:47 p.m., Sept. 19, 2005--With the beginning of the academic year, Vita Nova is ready to welcome the campus community and community at large to its award-winning lunch buffet, as well as dinner.

Voted “Best of Delaware” by Delaware Today magazine, Vita Nova’s luncheon buffet is served from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The cost for the luncheon buffet is $12.75, including a 12 percent service charge.

Dinner is served from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesday through Friday. Dinner prices begin at $20.50.

Advance reservations are required for lunch and dinner. All it takes to reserve a table is a telephone call to (302) 831-0500 or an e-mail to [bmayer@udel.edu].

The Darden Bistro, located within the restaurant, offers casual meals prepared from fresh ingredients and also specialty wines by the glass. The bistro is open from 5:30-8:30 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, and reservations are not required.

A student-run restaurant, Vita Nova provides an active learning opportunity for students enrolled in the Department of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HRIM), who rotate through 17 different positions, getting hands-on experience in all phases of the restaurant business.

This year while Julie Fagan, general manager/director of restaurant operations, is on maternity leave, Steve Giardini, a 2004 HRIM graduate, has returned to UD as a member of the culinary team at Vita Nova, and Joe DiGregorio, executive chef and director of education for the department’s food service labs, will serve as general manager/director of restaurant operations. He and Giardini have worked together closely in the past. Bernd Mayer is dining room manager.

Vita Nova will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, Thursday and Friday, Nov. 24 and 25.

Photo by Duane Perry

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