Despite students like freshman Becca Levi’s rave reviews of The View’s menu, Executive Chef Ken Grogg is determined to spice it up and make it even better next year.

While Grogg acknowledged that The View’s first semester has been a success, he has big plans for the future.

“We are going to try to keep raising the bar on what we’re doing here,” Grogg said. “What we want to continue to do is bring in more fresh produce and really promote the sustainability that we’re working on and the Farm to Fork initiatives that we’re working on as well.”

The View plans to replace the salt used to enhance food with spice and flavor, and Grogg said he will continue to look for any opportunities to make the food students consume healthier.

“I make no apologies for serving chicken strips because students like those,” Grogg said. “But it can’t be just that; there have to be balanced options.”

Freshman Abby Engel commended these efforts and said many colleges feed students a lot of “heavy” food.

“I like the fresh food because it seems like a lot of times colleges serve really heavy stuff, but it’s nice to have fresh fruit and fresh vegetables,” Engel said. “It makes it easier to stay healthy.”

Freshness is not the only thing that will be improved next fall. Grogg noted that there will be more options at the “Your Call” station, a big draw at The View.

“There will be an omelette bar, a Hawaiian Bar, Caribbean Bar, even a New Orleans satay to mess around with some spices,” Grogg said. “We are going to just really get seasonal with the ‘Your Call’ and bring a lot of spice.”

This news has students like Levi excited and curious.

“Wow, a Hawaiian bar sounds awesome, even though I don’t know what that would be,” Levi said.

Grogg also mentioned plans to launch a new smoker in the fall.

“We have a huge 600-pound smoker that we are going to use to smoke meat in house,” Grogg said. “It will really be one of the showcase items.”

Freshman Brenton Braddock said he is looking forward to the smoker.

“That sounds delicious,” Braddock said. “I cannot wait to try some smoked ribs.”

Despite all of the planned changes, Grogg said that students’ demands will be what drives them.

“It’s all about engaging the student body. Food is a very intimate thing, and it’s really imperative that I get information from the students,” Grogg said. “However we can best communicate, that’s what I want to do.”

In an effort to hear from students, The View has created a Facebook page and asks students to communicate their thoughts on it.

“I want to show them that I will respond to that; we are here for them,” Grogg said.

Meghan Sheldon can be reached at shel9069@stthomas.edu.