Hillsdale College’s Knorr Family Dining Room has several more regulars after two cooks working at the Pi Beta Phi and Chi Omega sorority houses quit the last week in January.
While students on the Pi Beta Phi and Chi Omega meal plans once enjoyed their meals in the Greek houses, they have now transferred to the 150-block meal plan, allowing them to dine at Bon Appétit for roughly the same amount of meals that would have been prepared by their cooks.
“For food right now we are eating some meals at the house and some in the dining hall, and people in the house seem to enjoy having a mix of both,” Pi Beta Phi President junior Rosie Ellison said. “It’s always nice to relax at the house and have a meal with sisters, but it’s also a lot of fun to see everyone up the hill and be able to eat with other friends. We do have food at the house, plenty of breakfast and snack options and some more substantial things for when schedules don’t allow girls to eat in the dining hall.”
Chi Omega President senior Anna Goodwin said the women enjoyed takeout from restaurants around Hillsdale last week but have now transitioned to eating at Bon Appétit.
Administrators in both sororities are working to find a long-term solution.
“The plan for resolution is fairly straightforward,” said Rebekah Dell, Pi Beta Phi’s housing corporation adviser. “The position was posted on the Hillsdale College website this week. We will interview potential candidates and hire if one of the candidates is a strong fit.”
Dell said Pi Beta Phi students’ meals could return to the plan based on dining in the sorority house depending on when the sorority hires a cook.
Goodwin said Chi Omega does not plan to attempt to find a cook for this semester: “With Pi Phi’s cook gone, we just don’t think it’s possible. We’re going to…use this six months to find a full-time cook for next year.”
Goodwin said, with the extra money in the budget, they will try to arrange a weekly meal at the house for all Chi Omegas.
Both Goodwin and Ellison said their sorority sisters have shown positivity and flexibility in face of the situation.
“I think it was an unexpected transition, but the response has been pretty positive, and I think everyone adjusted well,” Ellison said.
