After 20 years of outsourced management, ULiège is taking back the reins of its university restaurants. The doors will close on December 19 to prepare for this smooth transition: inventory, reorganization, logistical adjustments... Objective? To welcome the university community in the best possible conditions from Monday January 5.
This change, initiated by the rectoral team, marks an important turning point: the management of the university restaurants and cafeterias will be taken in-house, within the ASBL Restaurants universitaires de Liège. A strategic choice: " Despite all the efforts already made, outsourced management made it difficult to integrate our practices into a long-term transition logic ", explains Annick Lambert, project coordinator. " Taking back control means giving ourselves the means to think differently about catering: sustainable, inclusive and attentive to staff well-being. "
On January 1, there will be no revolution on the plates: the priority will be to ensure continuity of service. " We will be welcoming a new head chef and a new site manager. The ASBL staff (around forty people, depending on the time of year) will continue the adventure, as will the thirty or so student jobbers who complete the team. For the first few days, we'll still be in a running-in phase," explains Annick Lambert. " New management, new suppliers, new ordering software, in-house quality control... It's a huge challenge! So we're asking for a little indulgence But the ambition is clear: to offer the ULiège community tasty, more sustainable and more human catering.
Prices will remain the same, excluding indexation, and the menu will evolve gradually. The changes will be more marked at the start of the 2026 school year: more local, seasonal, organic and fair-trade products, less waste, stronger partnerships with regional suppliers and a subtle adjustment of meat portions to promote quality and sustainability, while following WHO recommendations.
Working with local suppliers and a vegetable factory in Liège means reviewing internal processes. " It's a different kind of logic: we no longer order at the last minute, we plan purchases with producers to enable them to produce with confidence," emphasizes Annick Lambert.
The ambition is also to forge links with the Faculties, by creating genuine educational partnerships around catering, nutrition and sustainable development. A young graduate from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has been hired as a quality controller after helping the Restos to obtain certification in self-control, as part of his end-of-study work.
The new model also ensures the well-being of staff: permanent contracts replace seasonal contracts as far as possible, with working hours distributed more evenly over the year (more hours during busy periods, less during the summer). One of our cooks started out as a trainee with Échafaudage, an ASBL for social and professional reintegration. Today, she has a permanent contract
In taking back control of its catering operations, ULiège is embarking on an ambitious project: to transform every meal into a gesture consistent with the values it defends. See you on January 5, with a simple promise: taste and meaning!
The Restaurants Universitaires "in house" catering service is continuing to develop, with tailor-made offers, a stronger team and an expanded range - a service to (re)discover!
Établir des modes de consommation et de production durables Le douzième objectif est un appel pour les producteurs, les consommateurs, les communautés et les gouvernements à réfléchir sur leurs habitudes et usages en termes de consommation, de production de déchets, à l’impact environnemental et social de l’ensemble de la chaîne de valeur de nos produits. Plus globalement, cet ODD réclame de comprendre les interconnexions entre les décisions personnelles et collectives, et de percevoir les impacts de nos comportements respectifs entre les pays et à l’échelle mondiale.
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