The messes in Pilani are set to undergo considerable changes in the coming semester. The Society for Student Mess Services (SSMS) has handed over the operation of the messes from Sodexo – the multi-national corporation that used to manage the messes for the last five years ^{[1] [2]} – to two different Food Service Providers (FSPs), Aditya Caterers and Blue Chips Hospitality (BCH), with the messes on campus being divided between the two. The menu has undergone significant changes and one can expect a different taste in mess food from 5^th January onwards, when the new caterers shall commence operations.

Reasons for Sodexo’s contract not being renewed include student dissatisfaction and the conflict of interest with both ANC and the messes being handled by the same entity.

While in this semester, everyone will be registered by default to the mess nearest to them, a choice based system – similar to the ones in Goa and Hyderabad ^[3] – will be introduced next semester wherein the students can avail any Food Service Provider’s services.

The mess menu – which will be the same for both FSPs – will be decided on a fortnightly basis as before. Each fortnightly menu promises to have more specials like drinks, desserts, salads, raitas etc. than before. Fruits, two eggs, and milk will now become a part of breakfast. Every lunch and dinner menu will consist of three main dishes instead of two – one dry vegetable, one daal, and one curry vegetable/gravy dish.

At the weekly grub, a non-vegetarian dish will be available as part of the mess basic, and will be available on other days as a signing facility. Each FSP will be required to provide at least twenty-five grubs – in addition to the weekly grub – over the course of the year.

Each Food Service Provider is set to bring down several of its own head chefs who will be directly responsible for preparing the food along with SSMS cooks, thereby ensuring a change in the taste of food that will be served.

With dislike of mess food having evolved into a defining trait of BITSian culture, this mammoth change in the mess system, and more importantly, the menu, will leave its mark on every BITSian. It remains to be seen whether this change will be worth the increased fee. The choice-based system which is set to be implemented from the next academic year is also cause for excitement. The finer details of this system are yet to be worked out, but it will hopefully give rise to healthy competition between the two Food Service Providers.

Students who are excited to find out what the new messes hold in store for them are advised to check out The Fine Print’s “Mess Special Issue” which will be put up in the messes on the 6^th of January. Students who are not so impressed by this wave of change are urged to be excited and to check out The Fine Print’s “Mess Special Issue” which will be put up in the messes on the 6^th of January.

Footnotes

1. The Mess Special Issue that was released five years ago.
2. Visit this article on the blog about the earlier system.
3. Mess System in Goa and Hyderabad campuses.