After being a chef for 13 years, Tracey Altomari (second from right) has brought Wednesday night specials to Ram’s Den, featuring unique foods. |Photo by Kayla Michaud.
For the last 13 years, Tracy Altomari has been serving eclectic and delicious food at the University of Rhode Island’s dining hall. Some may know her as the former sandwich delicatessen at Mainfare’s Deli, others may know her as the creative burger cook at Astro’s Grill who served oddities such as cinnamon bun burgers and Oh-La-La sauce. Recently, Altomari has moved to Ram’s Den where, she creates tantalizing options from the entrees to the specials on the salad bar.
“There’s thousands of different [recipes] in my head,” said Altomari. “I mean, I’ll have dreams about recipes. It’s not obsessive, I just think its just so much creativity in me, and I still can’t slow down.”
In an effort to engage students with greater dining hall options, Altomari has helped spearhead two new evening night specials from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. in Ram’s Den. Wednesday evenings are now carnival nights, which includes fun and unique foods not typically seen on college campuses, such as an Asian shrimp and mandarin orange eggroll with a Mexican flare of jalapeno cream cheese.
“I just get wild ideas in my head, to come up with these different layers of flavor that I think are really going to work,” Altomari said. “That’s the kind of thing I do, mix different things that I think going to go together.”
On Sunday evenings, Altomari serves her creative new burger combinations. Some previous classics have been the New Englander, which is a burger with cream cheese and cranberries, the I Can’t Believe It’s a Bagel Burger, which is a burger with a bagel as the bun, and also a glazed doughnut bun burger.
Any student can use a combo swipe to come to either event to quickly grab a snack or meal. Students without combos can opt to purchase the items for $7. For those with food allergies, dietary restrictions or preferences, students can always ask to have a version made for them without certain ingredients.
One example of this is a brisket grilled cheese, which was offered during a carnival night. Altomari explained that students who could not eat cheese could opt for a brisket sandwich instead.
Students may also notice the changes to the salad bar at the Ram’s Den. Currently, the station now offers an array of special sides, such as pickled vegetables, teriyaki tofu and homemade red wine vinaigrette. This has been an important project to Altomari who has been dedicated to providing students healthier alternatives.
At the end of the day, cooking for around 14,000 students is not an easy task. However, this is an experience that Altomari set out for. Her rich previous cooking experiences for a wide range of audiences, such as working on yachts and five-star hotels, have put her up for the task.
“You know me, task in hand, I’m always ready for a challenge,” Altomari said. She also said working for young professionals, “means the world to me, I just want to do the very best that I can. Everything is for them, it is all for them.”