Things are cooking at the University of Houston-Victoria Jaguar Hall Dining Services.

Dawn Rose, food services director and executive chef at Jaguar Hall, won the bronze award, and personnel at the University of Houston Dining Services on the main campus took gold and silver honors at the Aramark Southeast Region Annual Conference July 12 and 13 at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Dawn Rose

UHV contracts with Aramark, a national food services provider, for dining services at Jaguar Hall, the university’s freshman residence hall.

“I was quite surprised and honored,” Rose said. “This is my first management job with Aramark, and I have a great team of employees. I am pleased that our clients are happy with us.”

Rose said awards are given based on performance. Since Jaguar Hall Dining Services is a satellite operation, she said the company appreciated how she and her staff were self-sufficient.

Aramark awarded the honors based on iThrive, a leadership program in place at each location that encourages employees to be responsible and results driven.

The UH Dining Services won the gold award for opening a 33,000-square-foot Fresh Food Company in only 91 days. The silver award went to Misty Pierce, UH Dining Services unit marketing manager, for publicizing the benefits of meal plans to students in Houston apartment complexes. She was credited with increasing meal plan participation and having a key role in increasing customer satisfaction.

“Ms. Rose and her team are providing outstanding dining services to our Jaguar Hall residents,” said Wayne Beran, UHV vice president for administration and finance. “Dawn does a great job of providing a diverse, top-quality menu while controlling costs.”

Rose and her staff pride themselves on giving healthy choices for the students, staff and faculty who dine at the hall each day.

Since being named food services director and executive chef in the fall, Rose has implemented an online menu calendar and meal plan options for Jaguar Hall residents and nonresidents. Jaguar Hall Dining also has expanded into offering catering services for local receptions, student events and dinners.

Starting in August, Jaguar Hall Dining will add a portable grill to its offerings, and Rose is planning cookout nights at the residence hall.

“That will be a fun thing that I think the students will really enjoy at Jaguar Hall or sporting events,” Rose said. “We’re excited to be able to add that to our repertoire.”