Tony Finnestad: a wizard in the kitchen

I am writing this article because I firmly believe that Tony Finnestad, the executive director of dining services at SJU, deserves some recognition for all the work he has done this year to improve the dining experience at the Refectory. Tony started as director of dining services this past summer and has made some notable changes to how the Reef operates, notably the new Celebrity Chef series, in which local chefs come and cook some of their signature food items for Bennies and Johnnies in the Reef on certain Tuesdays from 11-1:30 p.m. Another recent and very popular change to the operations of the Reef has been ‘Midnight Munchies’ in which the Reef is open from 11 p.m.–1 a.m. serving various comfort foods like flatbread pizza, wings, onion rings and more. Both events have been a huge hit, with many Bennies and Johnnies telling me how amazing the events were and that they were hoping that these events would continue. These two events really show dining, and Tony in particular, caring for and listening to students and their wants, all while yielding extremely positive results and feedback. However, I would be remiss if I did not also give a shoutout to every single employee that works in SJU Dining. Thank you all so much for your positivity, cheerful demeanors and willingness to come to work every day to ensure that we are fed. We could not attend school every day without all the work you do, so I want to give a huge thank you to all of you too. Before I close, Tony and SJU Dining, I know I speak for many Bennies and Johnnies when I say that we see you, we appreciate you SO much and we are so grateful for all the hard work that you have put in this year to make everyone’s experiences at the Refectory that much better. You are all doing amazing work, and I just wanted to acknowledge all that hard work. Keep it up.