In recognition of Women’s History Month, IFMA The Food Away from Home Association is looking back at six women whose pioneering work earned them the association’s coveted Gold Plate Award, an honor synonymous with foodservice operator of the year.
We present them chronologically beginning with our first female Gold Plate honoree who received the award in 1961.
 

 

 

There's a recognized manual for high-volume cooking that is used nationwide and has been maintained since the 1930s. The volume’s most recent author, and an extraordinary industry expert, is Dr. Mary Molt, who has kept “Food for Fifty” current for the past 40+ years.  

Molt knows her work helps keep the College & University segment well fed and well served. Do you know Mary Molt?

 

Mary Molt wrote the book on college foodservice. Literally.

 

It’s cliche to salute an expert’s mastery of a subject by suggesting they could have written the book on the matter. In the instance of Mary Molt, winner of the 2012 Gold Plate Award from IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, there’s no flattery involved. She’s written the definitive text on college foodservice, again and again and again.  

 

In addition to serving as Associate Director of Housing and Dining Services for Kansas State University, where she’s worked for 52 years, Molt is the current author of “Food for Fifty,” the bible for anyone involved in high-volume cooking. That covers everyone from wedding caterers to the person behind the stove at a church gathering to Molt’s peers in college foodservice.  

 

 

Since it first appeared in 1937, the book has periodically been updated by leading experts in the field to reflect changes in food trends and prep methods. Molt has helped in gathering recipes and editing the content since the 1980s and now reigns as sole author. Anyone in college and university foodservice has likely followed her instructions.  

 

But that, say her colleagues, is only part of the reason Molt is such a revered figure in the segment. Under her tutelage, Kansas State’s foodservices have been routinely ranked among the best college dining programs in the nation.  

 

She’s been a trailblazer in particular in accommodating students with food allergies. Molt set up a station specifically for those youngsters, walling it with glass panels to prevent any cross-contamination from air-borne allergens. The niche features its own toasters, microwave, dishwasher, sinks, and other pieces of equipment. Only gluten and allergy-free foods stored in the station’s refrigerators and freezers are prepared there. Students without allergies can help themselves to a broad array of fare, from comfort foods to almost anything else the students would find on Uber Eats or DoorDash.  

 

In addition to nourishing the students, Molt serves them brainfood in the classroom. For decades, she’s doubled as an assistant professor in Kansas State’s hospitality management curriculum.  

 

Her involvement in upgrading college foodservice extends beyond the Kansas State campus. Molt—make that Dr. Molt; in addition to being a registered dietician, she also holds a Ph.D — is also active in trade associations serving the sector. Among her contributions was the authorship of the Professional Standards Manual for the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS).  

 

In all her endeavors, Molt brings a quick wit and a sharp sense of humor. Asked if there’s anything else she wished life had brought her way, she was ready with a response: Being able to eat whatever she wanted, calorie counts be damned.  

 

      

Special thanks to our sponsors BSI and Hershey Foodservice.