As the semester draws to an end, LSU Dining will soon decide what limited-time offers will become permanent menu items.
Limited-time offers are temporary menu items that are piloted by LSU Dining, said Auxiliary Services Executive Director Margot Carroll. The goal is to see how students, faculty and staff respond to the items to decide if they should become part of the menu the following semester.
Typically three new limited-time offers are introduced per semester and are offered for a minimum of two weeks, but this trial period can last as long as a month, said LSU Dining Marketing Director Dean Samuels.
At Chick-N-Grill this semester, chips and salsa, queso and tacos were limited-time, Samuels said. The French Quarter Cafe also added a whole wheat Greek hummus wrap.
While some of the items piloted are added to the menu permanently, other limited-time offers are brought back each year at the same time, such as seafood during Lent, Samuels said.
LSU Dining decides what is permanently added to the menu based on sales, Samuels said.
The most effective way students tell LSU Dining what they want is with their purchases, he said.
Samuels said during winter and summer breaks, LSU Dining reviews its product movement reports to see how students responded to the piloted items.
Because of its popularity last semester, a parmesan stuffed meatball sub was added permanently to the French Quarter Cafe after first being a limited-time offering.
Limited time-offers can also replace old menu items that are no longer popular, Samuels said.
LSU Dining staff create these items by following national and culinary trends and listening to what people are asking for, Samuels said.
LSU Dining is also able to get information about what students and others are asking for and ways to improve service with online surveys, Samuels said.
Students can also fill out the surveys in various dining locations on campus, such as the dining halls, Union Lair, the Magnolia Room, Bayou Burgers and the Design Building Atrium Cafe. Students fill out the surveys with laptops on loan from the library, so LSU Dining can constantly have the most up-to-date information, Samuels said.