Your meals

We know how important food is and our experienced caterers work hard to make sure you are served tasty and nutritious meals each day.

The information on this page is for University-managed halls. Our partner hall Victoria House is managed privately and may have different catering arrangements. Check with them directly for more information.

Residents sitting down to eat in the dining hall

On the menu

Your catered hall of residence provides breakfast, lunch and dinner from Monday to Saturday and brunch and dinner on Sunday. You can also order a packed lunch or arrange a late dinner when needed.

Our menu is assessed by a dietitian and adheres to the Ministry of Health’s Healthy Eating for Young Adults and Eating for Healthy Vegetarians guidelines, ensuring our meals meet the national guidelines for well-balanced choices for young adults.

All University-managed halls are looked after by the same catering company and receive the same meals each day.

Food safety and compliance

Our team work closely with our catering company, Compass Group to provide daily meals from their centralised kitchen for almost 2000 residents across our seven catered halls and ensure this is to a high standard.

MPI routinely visits each of our hall kitchens and completes a comprehensive site inspection, which must pass their food safety standards.

Compass Group also engages an independent contractor to do additional inspections across all halls to offer us additional assurance of these standards.

Feedback

Across Compass Group and the University’s halls of residence, we have a wide variety of channels you can give feedback about meals. You can read about all of these in detail in our Student Hall Handbook.

You can provide instant positive or negative feedback on your meal on the Time2Eat app in real time so the caterers know what’s been a success and where they can keep improving.

Your nutrition and good health are important—if you need help putting your meal together ask a staff member. If our meals are not meeting your needs, we encourage you to talk to your head of hall so we can help.

You are also very welcome to speak directly to kitchen staff at any time.

Serve yourself buffet

Food is served buffet-style and students select and build their own meals. A typical breakfast is a range of cereals, fruit, toast and often eggs, and a hot brunch is served on Sundays. Lunches are usually build-your-own sandwiches or wraps which may be toasted and there is often a hot option offered.

At dinnertime you’ll usually have a choice of two different meat options and a vegetable-based protein, two salads, hot veggies, and either potato, pasta or rice to choose from.

Dining times

All meals are provided in the hall dining room over a period of at least two hours so you can eat when convenient for you. Check the posters on your floor or in the dining room for the set mealtimes in your hall.

Dining times may vary during study and exam periods and during holiday breaks.

Dietary preferences and needs

All halls can cater for a range of dietary requirements. All meals include a vegetarian option and we can cater for vegans and provide halal meals.

Gluten sensitivities

While our kitchens are not gluten-free, they are gluten-free friendly and able to cater for students with mild gluten sensitivities. Our meals are all served buffet-style and are not individually plated, so residents with gluten sensitivities will need to work closely with kitchen staff to keep safe. If you have coeliac disease, call us to discuss whether we can meet your needs.

Food allergies

There is a full allergen menu available each day, which makes it clear when dishes contain fish, gluten, nuts, or shellfish. Each hall is audited on a regular basis to ensure allergen management practices are being strictly followed. All halls are nut-free in the first weeks of Trimester 1 until it is clearly established that no student will be at risk.

You can update any special dietary requirements at any time through the accommodation portal. Make sure these details are correct before you arrive to ensure appropriate arrangements can be made for your meals. If you have serious food allergies you should always speak directly with kitchen staff as well.

Snacks

You can make snacks and hot drinks in the kitchenette in your common room from supplies you have bought for yourself. Tea and coffee is provided for you at any time of the day in the hall dining room, but you’ll need to take your own cup with you.

Time2Eat app

You can view upcoming menus, including nutrition and allergen information, through the Time2Eat app in most catered halls.

If you want to order a packed lunch (Grab N Go) or a late meal, you can also do this through the app.

Download the Time2Eat app for iOS.

Download the Time2Eat app for Android.

Dining room rules

The dining room is a shared space for everybody in the hall community, so you need to follow some simple rules:

Sanitise your hands when you enter the dining room.
Always swipe or scan to get your meals.
Treat all catering staff and facilities with respect.
The kitchen is out of bounds.
The dining room is reserved for residents of the hall and pre-arranged overnight guests. No other visitors are permitted.
A reasonable standard of dress, appropriate to eating in a public place, must be worn in the dining room.
Footwear must be worn at all times.
When you have finished eating, return all crockery, cutlery, and any leftover food to the collection area.
Food (except Grab N Go), cutlery, and crockery supplied by the hall must not be taken from the dining room.

If you are unwell

If you are sick and can’t come to the dining hall for meals, let a staff member know and they will arrange for your meals to be delivered to your room or to your common room fridge. You can order your meal choices through the Time2Eat app.

Read more about what to do if you are unwell in your hall.

Good nutrition

It’s important you eat regularly and eat nutritious food to help your brain and body function well. A good diet supports your sleep, your mood and your ability to focus on your studies.

Here are five tips for getting good nutrition while living in a hall:

Make time for breakfast – eating breakfast wakes up your metabolism and provides the fuel needed to start your day.
Make a plan – take a look at the menu on Time2Eat before going to the dining hall so you have a plan of what you intend to eat.
Build a healthy plate – visit the salad bar or select a variety of veggies, add protein and wholegrain carbs when offered. Eat a variety of foods each meal and each day.
Eat mindfully – take your time when eating—it can take 15-20 minutes for fullness signals to reach the brain.
Be prepared – keep healthy snacks on hand like fresh and dried fruit, nuts, yoghurt and instant porridge for when hunger strikes outside mealtimes.

You can find more information on nutrition on the University’s Keep well webpage.