Fresh Baked Goods on the Hill

Housing and Hospitality's bakery team

By keeping the production in-house, the bakery team is able to provide a high quality product.

Executive Pastry Chef Richard Ruskell and his team of 30 baking professionals from Dining Services at Housing & Hospitality now produce all of the pastries, desserts and about 98% of the bread served in UCLA’s residential community restaurants and Plateia (the fine dining restaurant located in the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center). Additionally, baked goods are sold via UCLA Conferences & Catering and ASUCLA, which operates various eateries across campus.

By keeping the production in-house, the team is able to control the amount of sugar, salt and fat in the products and make breads and desserts that are preservative-free. On-site baking also allows the team to cut costs and waste by taking note of which items are popular and which items are being selected less often so adjustments can be made to the daily baking amounts.

UCLA is commonly regarded as a national leader in college dining. Known for its commitment to nutrition, quality and sustainability, the bakery has recently started to repurpose excess grain from Broxton Brewery. The grains that would normally have gone to waste are now being incorporated into bread recipes.