Robert Landolphi

“With more than 600 potato recipes in our library, the versatility and staying power of Idaho® potatoes is evident.”

Simple Yet Elegant Potato Salad of Distinction

The earliest indication that a career in food was possible started during summer visits with my grandmother. I was enthralled by our shopping adventures, walking through grocery stores, visiting with the butcher and baker and talking with all of the vendors. At home, I'd spend hours with her in the kitchen, watching and learning. What impressed me the most was the love that went into our family meals.

I followed this with home economics classes in high school, a degree in Culinary Arts and Foodservice Management from Johnson & Wales, and an assortment of jobs in foodservice that eventually led to my position with the University of Connecticut Dining Services department.

We find that potatoes are consistently popular with our students. We also like the fact that potatoes are cost effective and wonderfully versatile. When developing our Greek-Style Idaho® Potato Salad, we found the color and texture of the Idaho® Cal Red potato worked exceptionally well alongside the Mediterranean ingredients we selected.

When you consider that we're operating one of the largest foodservice programs in the country and preparing upwards of 185,000 meals per week, the greatest satisfaction I have, beyond the ability of my incredibly diverse team of more than 150 chefs to work together seamlessly, is educating our students and seeing our customers respond enthusiastically to the diversity of foods we prepare.

Robert Landolphi received the Professional Employee of the Year and Outstanding First Year Experience Teaching Award from the University of Connecticut. Its Dining Services team has earned numerous awards from the National Association of College and University Food Services, as well as recognition as one of the Top 25 College Dining Power Players from industry media.