Strawberry and butternut and sriracha — oh my! Chase now serves unique pizzas

If you’ve ever eaten in Chase or Lenoir Dining Hall, you’ve probably had a slice or two of cheese or pepperoni pizza – but you’ve probably never eaten, much less imagined, an apricot, ricotta and honey pizza.

This unique flavor is one of the many new types of pizza appearing at Chase. 

Hunter Stegall, residential chef at Chase, said new healthy pizza flavors include fruit and ricotta, kale, beet pesto and butternut. CDS is also introducing more meat-based pizzas like barbecue bacon and mango and bacon sriracha, jalapeno and honey. He also said CDS is planning on releasing new pizza flavors for the Spring semester. 

“I literally did a double-take when I saw the words ‘strawberry and goat cheese’ next to ‘pizza’,'' Marley Davis-Martin, a sophomore majoring in business and sports administration, said. “I was so confused and honestly shocked about their decision to serve something like that.”

These distinctive flavors are part of an initiative by Stegall to bring “bold new flavorings to the students — both sweet and savory.” He said he was inspired by changes to Chase itself, with new renovations set to open in early October.

Cadan Holden, a junior majoring in neuroscience and biology, was excited about the new choices.

“I have a sweet tooth, and I like trying weird foods – so I was pretty jazzed,” he said. 

As of now, Holden has only tried the strawberry balsamic pizza, but he said he enjoyed it. Next, he plans to try the shrimp scampi pizza. 

Davis-Martin was not as excited.

“I think having normal pizza combinations is completely fine, like veggie or meats or whatever,'' she said. “They don’t need to get too funky with it.”

Stegall said pizza consumption is up from previous years, with over 4,000 slices being served each day at Chase and Lenoir. 

“Students seem to love the new flavors and variety,” he said in an email. “We see our students leave comments on our napkin talk boards giving kudos and asking for more!”

Stegall’s planned to put out a different pizza each day. In addition to pizza, CDS is also providing several new baked pastas and specialty salads like Black Bean Jicama Mango. 

Some students want to see more and have brought some suggestions to the table.

“I’d be down for something like a breakfast pizza or pizzas found in other countries around the world,” Holden said.

Davis-Martin is content with more traditional flavors and isn’t sold on the changes just yet.

“I think having normal pizza combinations is completely fine,” she said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Stegall is happy with feedback he's received and said the kitchen always welcomes student input.

“We are constantly evolving and tweaking our menu based on current trends and student requests,” he said in the email. “We love to create new items, and our students love to see a lot of variety — this is all part of keeping our Tar Heels well fed and happy!”

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