Breakfast, lunch and dinner are normally self-service meals. The Servery is open seven days a week meals at the times shown below, and for lunches only during the Summer vacation period. The Servery menu is published online and displayed on the Catering notice board in The Rayne Building. Members may choose from a selection of main, vegetarian (not vegan), and salad meals. Charges depend on the items selected; a price list is available online and on the notice board.
All meals are subsidised by College funds for members; guest meals are charged at a slightly higher rate. Graduate members may invite up to four guests to normal lunch or dinner. If places for more than four guests are sought, then prior permission from the Domestic Bursar must be given. Please email the Domestic Bursar’s Secretary domestic.bursars.secretary@darwin.cam.ac.uk [1]
Meal times are:
Breakfast : 8.00am-9.30am (Monday – Friday)
Lunch : 12.00-2.00pm (Monday – Friday)
Dinner : 6.00pm-7.30pm (Monday – Thursday)
5.30pm-7.00pm (Friday)
Brunch : 8.30am-2.00pm (Saturday and Sunday)
The College uses an EPOS system (Electronic Point of Sale), operated by your University Card. The tills are located at the end of the servery. You will be invoiced via your College account for food consumed by you and any guests at the end of each month. All Servery meals will be charged per item and a list of these are advertised on the College website.
The gong is sounded 10 minutes before end of service and then again at the end of service to indicate when diners should leave the Hall. Tea/coffee is taken downstairs in the Parlour.
The use of laptops, iPod/MP3 players and mobile phones, including for texting or using the internet, is not allowed in the Hall at any time; this includes at cafeteria lunch and dinners. Phones must be switched off before entering the Hall. Conversation should be kept at a reasonable level, so avoiding the need for anyone to shout. College members are expected to act with respect towards other diners and staff.
There is no dress code for normal lunch and dinner service, however the standard of dress should be reasonable as there may be College guests being hosted in the Hall at any mealtime. Thus, for example, beach footwear, sports clothing, and hats or caps are never appropriate items to be worn in the Dining Hall during meals.
Children (of any age) of current Darwin members may be brought into the Hall for informal meals, however parents and guardians are responsible for their children’s good behaviour and for ensuring that other diners are not disrupted or disturbed by behaviour or noise. Two high chairs are available for use in the dining hall.
All students at Darwin are encouraged to present their research at informal seminars held on Tuesdays and Thursdays during term. All members are welcome, whatever your degree or discipline. These talks are an excellent opportunity for members to become acquainted with the enormous breadth of research that is undertaken by Darwin Students. Members on two or three year courses are encouraged to present a talk at some time in the duration of their study.
Darwin members pick up lunch from the Servery at 12.45pm as normal, taking it into the Richard King Room (on the left at the top of the stairs leading to the Dining Hall). Non-Darwin members are welcome to attend, although lunch is only available to guests of members. The talk begins at about 1.15pm and lasts for about 20 minutes and is followed by questions over coffee. The seminar will finish by 1.45pm at the latest. Everyone is welcome to attend both groups. Please return your trays to the clearing station in the Hall by 1.50pm.
Tuesday lunchtime is generally devoted to topics in the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Thursday lunchtime is generally devoted to topics in Technology and the Natural Sciences.
The current programmes are available from the talks.cam service. There is also an archive of past programmes from years predating the talks.cam service.
Members are welcome to eat their own pre-prepared lunches in the dining hall if there is space. If the dining hall is busy these meals may be eaten in the Common Room/Bar Lounge. Food may not be eaten in the Parlour or Reading Room - if in doubt please consult the Butlers. Except at College-sponsored functions and events, food may not be brought into or consumed in any other public room in the College.
The kitchens will close after dinner on Saturday 19th December 2015 until 8am on Monday 4th January 2016. The College kitchens will close after dinner on Thursday 24th March 2016, until 12 noon on Tuesday 29th March 2016. The College kitchens will operate a reduced-menu service from Monday 18th July 2016 until Monday 19th September 2016.
On most Wednesdays and Fridays a formal dinner is served. Bookings are administered by the Catering Department (catering.manager@darwin.cam.ac.uk [2]) and can be made via the College website: setting-up-your-upay-account [3]
Wednesday Formal Halls usually take place in the Richard King Room for a maximum of 30 guests; on Fridays they are held in the Dining Hall for a maximum of 120 guests. Pre-dinner drinks are provided in the Old Library (or Common Room for larger dinners) from 7.00pm with dinner at 7.30pm.
In addition to yourself, you are permitted to book places for up to three guests using the online booking system (except on especially busy evenings such as Burns Night or the Christmas Formal Halls, when only one guest is permitted); however if you wish to bring additional guests, owing to family or special guests visiting, please apply to the Catering Manager for permission.
To comply with the College’s licensing regulations the full names of all guests must be completed in the online booking system. Any dietary requirements should also be added to your online booking – the Kitchens work from this list and it is the member’s responsibility to ensure the booking has been made correctly. Please note that you cannot bring your own wine to Formal Halls. Wine must be purchased through the College Upay chilli account at the time of booking.
You may cancel your booking until 2pm on Tuesday for Wednesday Formal Halls and until 2pm on Thursday for Friday Formal Halls. After that time your payment will not normally be refunded, however if you do need to cancel your booking at short notice please phone or email the Domestic Bursar’s Secretary to check if there is a waiting list.
Pre and post-dinner drinks can be purchased on the night.
Special Dinners |
Student Member |
Other Student |
Non-Student Guest |
| Formal Hall | £13.00 | £19.50 | £25.00 |
| Guest Night [Note 1] | £37.50 | £42.00 | £45.00 |
|
Christmas Dinner and Burn's Night |
£22.00 | £30.00 | £34.80 |
1. Inclusive of all drinks
**As we are now VAT registered, VAT is applied on all alcohol and non-student guests**
By definition, Formal Halls are formal meals often used for the entertainment of special College guests. As such they are governed by certain guidelines, customs, and rules set out to ensure all college members enjoy the occasion. Failure to observe these guidelines, customs, and rules may result in the individual(s) being asked to leave the Dinner.
The College member is responsible for hosting their guests and for their behaviour, for introducing them to the Master or Presiding Fellow, for ensuring that they are aware of the dress code, informing them of the customs and procedures, and for guiding them through the evening. Therefore you are not permitted to ask other college members to book guests into Formal Hall on your behalf.
All guests attending Formal Hall must be accompanied by the host who made the booking. Any guest who is not so accompanied will not be allowed to dine.
Diners should arrive in good time for the pre-dinner reception held in either the Richard King Room (on Wednesdays) or the Old Library (on Fridays). At 7.15pm the Master (or Fellow acting for her) and her guests will enter the Dining Hall first followed by the rest of the diners. Members and their guests should not delay in moving into Hall once called. All diners should be seated by 7.30pm.
On being called to table, diners remain standing behind their seat; the gong will be sounded and once those present are silent, The Master (or deputy) will give The College Grace. At the end of the meal, the gong will again sound and all diners stand for Grace and during The Master’s (or Deputy's) departure. Members and their guests should then follow on.
On Fridays, coffee and port is served downstairs in the Old Library. Diners should leave the Hall reasonably quickly after the gong has sounded and make their way to the relevant area; this allows the catering staff to clear the Hall. Coffee and port on a Wednesday are served in the Richard King Room.
As these dinners are more formal than normal meals, it is expected that members and guests will remain seated throughout the meal; moving around the tables particularly during service creates a safety problem for the staff and other diners. It is also not usual to leave the table during the meal unless a member or guest feels unwell. If you do need to leave at any point, you should exit the room, and return if recovered, as discretely as possible. Please note that this dispensation is not intended to be used for taking cigarette breaks.
The use of mobile phones is not allowed in the Hall at any time. Please ensure that your and your guests' mobile phones are switched off before entering the Hall. Conversation should be kept at a reasonable level, so avoiding the need for anyone to shout.
Photos may be taken after the Master or her Deputy has left the table at the conclusion of dinner. Diners are expected to show respect for guests, other diners and staff. The Butler on duty has been instructed to ask any member or guests exhibiting unsociable or unacceptable behaviour to leave the room.
There is a dress code at all formal dinners defined without reference to gender identity or expression. At Formal Halls and Supervisors' Evenings this is a lounge suit/jacket with a tie or appropriate equivalent attire. College Members, and guests who are members of the University, are encouraged to wear gowns. Persons wearing a shirt without a jacket and tie, or appearing in jeans, training shoes, beach footwear, and/or hats or caps, will be refused entry. If you are unsure of the requirements – please consult the Butler before the event.
Children, aged 16 years or older, of current Darwin College members of Darwin may attend Formal Hall as a guest. Children under the age of 16 years are not permitted to attend formal dinners.
Guest Nights are special occasions to which College Members and students are able to invite non-College members in to dine and are normally held once a term. Dates for Guest Nights can be found on the College Calendar.
At Guest Nights a tasting menu is served. The prices are on the College website. The price for 2015/2016 is £35 (including a flight of wines).
These are significantly subsidised College occasions so a maximum of two guests are allowed to accompany each member; however, if exceptionally a place for an additional guest is sought, you must apply to the Domestic Bursar, via the Domestic Bursar’s Secretary, for specific permission. Numbers at Guest Nights are restricted, so additional guests may not always be possible.
As this is a special formal occasion, the dress for a gentleman at a Guest Night is a dinner jacket/black tie (or dark suit with a tie), with the appropriate equivalent for ladies. College members are expected to wear academic gowns.
Bookings for Guest Nights are administered by the Catering Department (catering.manager@darwin.cam.ac.uk [4])
These are held periodically, in the Michaelmas, Lent and (if required) Easter Terms. Groups of supervisors are invited to join their students, and others, for dinner; afterwards coffee, wines and dessert are served in the Richard King Room. Bookings for Supervisors’ Evenings are administered by the Deanery (deanery@darwin.cam.ac.uk [5])
Links
[1] mailto:domestic.bursars.secretary@darwin.cam.ac.uk
[2] mailto:catering.manager@darwin.cam.ac.uk?subject=Formal%20Hall
[3] http://www.darwin.cam.ac.uk/catering/setting-up-your-upay-account
[4] mailto:catering,manager@darwin.cam.ac.uk?subject=Guest%20Night%20
[5] mailto:deanery@darwin.cam.ac.uk