Food and
Drink
Meals are available at
the following times:
Breakfast
Monday to Friday, 8.30-9.00, in the Buttery
Lunch
Monday to Saturday, 12.30-13.30, in the Buttery
(salad option in Hall during Full Term, Monday to Friday)
Dinner
(a) Self-service, 18.15-19.15, in the Buttery
(b) Served, Monday to Thursday in Full Term, 19.30,
in Hall
Meals are charged to
your University Card (see details below).
Dietary requirements
Vegetarian options are
routinely available. If you have any other special dietary requirements,
you should discuss them with the Catering Manager, Mr
Riccardo Chieppa who will try to prepare appropriate
meals if this can reasonably be arranged. We cannot, however, guarantee
to fulfil all individual requests. Students who require certain
types of diet (eg kosher) may apply for exemption from the Kitchen
Fixed Charge. The application must be supported by a statement from
the relevant medical or religious authority.
If you have a serious
food allergy, such as an allergy to nuts, you should discuss
this immediately with the College Nurse and with the Catering
Manager, who will be able to advise you about ingredients and labelling
of College meals.
Guests
You are welcome to bring
guests into the Buttery or Hall for meals, although you should remember
that they will be charged at a higher rate, since they do not pay
the Kitchen Fixed Charge. If you wish to invite several guests (eg
a visiting team), you must inform the Catering Manager in advance.
It may also be possible
to book the Hall or the Small Hall for a private function, such
as a Club or Society dinner. If you wish to make such a booking
you should apply to the Tutorial Bursar, though it would be sensible
to consult the Catering Manager first, and he will usually make
the booking with the Tutorial Bursar on your behalf.
Paying for Meals with
your University Card
Your University Card is
not only your University and College library card. It can
also be used to purchase food in the Buttery and Hall (including
Formal Hall). The card should be presented at the check-out, and
your purchases will be automatically charged to your College account.
Formal Halls can be booked at machines in either the Old Court Lodge
or the Colony Lodge, and again, the charge will go straight on to
your account. The charge for food consumed in one term will appear
on the next term's bill.
Replacement Cards
You should contact Mrs
Dawson in N1 ,
she will then arrange for a new card should yours be lost or stolen
- she will also inform the College Bursary, F2, so they can put
a stop on the lost card. There will be a replacement charge
of £12 for lost, stolen or damaged (because of miss-use) cards.
Dining in Hall
Dining in Hall with the
Fellows is an important aspect of life in all the Colleges. Since
the foundation of Clare, eating together has been the main means
of meeting people from other disciplines and of forging a close
scholarly community. Although we call it Formal Hall, the formalities
have been reduced to the minimum, and students are no longer required
to wear gowns, although they are welcome to do so. There are, however,
some basic conventions of behaviour.
The beginning of the meal
is signalled by the entry of the Fellows, for which everyone stands.
This is out of respect for the College’s heritage and not because
the Fellows wish to manifest superiority. A gong is struck, and
a Grace is read in Latin, as required by the College statutes.
During the course of the
meal itself, Fellows and students are expected to remain in their
places, to converse only with those sitting nearby, and to cooperate
with the serving staff. At the formal ending of the meal,
everybody stands when the Senior Fellow present sounds a gong and
says a brief Grace; they remain standing while diners at the High
Table leave the Hall. Once the Fellows have left the Hall,
students may treat the rest of the meal in a less formal manner.
The two Graces are a reminder
of the foundation of the College as a Christian institution, and
those who wish to give thanks in this way are welcome to say ‘Amen’.
Those who do not identify with the words of the Grace are invited
to treat them as a traditional way to start and finish a formal
meal, and perhaps as a general expression of gratitude for belonging
to a College which has been dining together for nearly seven hundred
years.
The Latin text, and English
translation, are as follows:
Oculi omnium
in te sperant Domine:
Tu das iis escam eorum in tempore opportuno.
Aperis tu manum tuam:
Et imples omne animal benedictione tua.
Sanctifica nos, quaesumus,
Domine, per
verbum et orationem, istisque tuis donis, quae de tua
bonitate sumus accepturi, benedicito
per Christum Dominum nostrum,
Amen
The eyes of
all await upon thee, O Lord,
And thou givest them their food in due season.
Thou openest thy hand,
And fillest every living thing with thy blessing.
Sanctify us, we beseech thee, O Lord, by thy
word and our petition; and bless the gifts which
of thy bounty we are about to receive,
through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Self Catering
The College is an educational community and undergraduate eating arrangements are intended to be communal. We do not offer self-catering accommodation in College, so all students (apart from very rare exemptions in special circumstances) contribute to the maintenance of the catering department by paying a fixed termly Kitchen Fixed Charge. However, all students have access to small shared kitchens (gyp-rooms) that are adequate for preparing meals or snacks. Remember that others will be using the same facilities, so you should ensure that the washing-up is done promptly and that you leave the gyp-room clean and tidy. The over-use or mis-use of cooking facilities and appliances is amongst the most frequent causes of damage to rooms (for which you are then charged).
In some communal areas (e.g. the Colony Common Room) and larger kitchens, dining tables are provided for students to eat meals at; where possible, please use these facilities rather than staircases and landings, which should be left free for easy access to rooms. If communal areas are used for dining, they must be left clean and tidy once you have finished eating.
For your protection, the College strictly follows Health and Safety regulations. Toasters, hobs and microwave ovens are provided by the College gyp-rooms and must not be used in College rooms. Kettles are also provided in gyp-rooms; however, they are permitted in student rooms provided that they are kept on a tray (fines will be issued for any damage to the room). All other appliances (e.g. sandwich-makers and slow cookers) must be used in gyp-rooms only. In certain circumstances (medical, dietary or religious reasons), and subject to special permission from the Steward, you are allowed to keep your own fridge or freezer in your room. Conventional electric ovens (e.g. Baby Belling), grills with exposed elements, rice or pressure cookers must not be brought into the College. Drink
There are two Bars
in the College: one adjacent to the JCR, the other in the MCR.
The JCR Bar is normally
open from 18.30 to 23.30 daily. The bar sometimes opens to
serve soft drinks at lunchtimes if a sports match or other TV programme
is being shown in the JCR. It is run by the students, under
the management of the Assistant
Catering Manager. The MCR bar is run by the MCR Committee.
The sale of alcohol in
the College is governed by the Master's and Fellow's licence, which
is held by the Bursar. The staff have an obligation to refuse to
serve those whom they consider to be the worse for drink, to avoid
serving multiple orders near closing time, and to enforce a 30-minute
drinking-uptime. Alcohol bought outside College is not to be consumed
in the JCR Bar or in the JCR itself, except at events notified in
advance to the Licensee. The MCR Committee is responsible to the
Licence-Holder for all aspects of the MCR Bar's management. Clare
students who bring guests to either of the bars are responsible
for the guests' behaviour.
Should any student become seriously drunk,
report this to the Porters', who may advise on appropriate action.
Drunkenness can be extremely dangerous and should be
taken seriously. Apart from the danger of choking
on inhaled vomit, drunkenness can hide less obvious injuries and
conditions, eg head or neck injury, diabetes, substance misuse.
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