“One of the biggest things that’s different is just the sheer size of Brody Square,” he said. “You’re looking at 65,000 square feet, (which is) three times the size of The Gallery. We’re really stepping outside the norm.”

Kevin Cruz, sous chef for MSU Culinary Services, and many of the complex’s chefs were busy testing new recipes and working to scale a one portion size to about 9,000 in the Wonders Hall kitchen Wednesday. The new food under development, such as the vegetable stuffed potato, as well as the technology involved, is enough to become excited about, Cruz said.

“I’ve got a fresh tortilla maker, a fresh pasta maker,” Cruz said. “I mean, we have the crème de la crème of chef toys. (We will have) new, innovative food. We’re going to have sushi, vegetarian options — options that are just over the top.”

At the Boiling Point venue, the new pasta machine can produce about 120 pounds of pasta per hour and cook portions in about 30 seconds, Cruz said. Classics at The Gallery, such as the Brimstone Grille, will continue to offer students the option of hamburgers and other sandwiches in the new dining hall.

During the 2008-09 school year, MSU students consumed 365 tons of chicken, about 2.5 million eggs and 120 tons of chopped romaine lettuce, Kwiatkowski said. The cook-to-flow model of cooking for a large scale audience on demand, such as for a student body, is something that is quickly becoming the standard and will continue to expand throughout the coming years, he said.

“The perception of ‘dorm’ food is that, well, it’s just in a pan, (we) heat it up at 3 p.m. and it’s just sitting there waiting for me to show up at 8 p.m.,” Kwiatkowski said. “Does that happen at some other universities? Maybe it does, but that’s not something we do at Michigan State.”

Supply chain management alumnus Mike Jorgenson said the food prepared at MSU sets it apart from the rest.

“I enjoyed it, (it all) tastes fine by me,” he said. “The food is better than the other schools I’ve been to. It’s diverse with all the fruits and vegetables. I hope they support local farming down the road.”

As Brody Square concludes development, chefs at MSU Culinary Services hope to better serve their guests with fresher, higher quality product. In addition, Kwiatkowski said food that is grown and raised in Michigan will be more prevalent.

“People are into so many styles of cooking, (and now) we can go out there and do some of those things,” he said. “Food brings a lot of people together, and we evolve and continue to upgrade and change. It’s going to be really exciting.”