Boston University’s famous Lobster Night made a successful and sustainable return Wednesday night for its 40th anniversary in campus dining halls.
The long-standing tradition aims to introduce students, particularly those from out of state, to New England’s food culture while supporting local food suppliers and promoting sustainable practices.
“One of the things we want to do before getting too far into the academic year is give them a taste of New England,” BU Spokesperson Colin Riley said.
Lynn Cody, director of marketing for BU Dining Services, wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press that this year the dining halls prepared 9,750 lobsters. To avoid waste, dining services calculated the quantity of lobsters needed based on the number of participants from the previous year.
Every lobster was provided by local Massachusetts food suppliers and BU’s continuous partners, Cape Ann Lobstermen and Boston Food Hub.
“This partnership allows us to support local and regional growers, bringing fresh, high-quality produce to the event’s side dishes and desserts ensuring the evening continues to be a successful and memorable tradition,” Cody wrote.
Since the tradition began in 1985, Dining Services has eliminated non-recyclable or non-compostable plastics, such as lobster bibs, to adhere to BU’s sustainability goals.
“BU Dining strives to minimize waste during Lobster Night by using compostable single-use dishware and ensuring that lobster shells and plate waste are diverted from the trash stream through composting or anaerobic digestion,” Cody wrote.
Although Lobster Night only lasts four hours, it takes months to plan the largest locally sourced meal of the year. The Dining Services team coordinated logistics for the campus-wide event over the summer.
From 12 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Cape Ann Lobstermen directly delivered lobsters to the dining halls, and the employees prepared for the night’s festivities. Each dining hall began preparing side dishes and desserts days ahead in anticipation, Cody wrote.
“It’s an adrenaline rush,” said Danley Daniel, the executive chef at Warren Towers Dining Hall. “It’s one of those times where it’s all hands on deck to make sure that we have everything that we need for service, to make sure that we keep the ball rolling at a very high pace.”
Long lines formed outside dining halls before Lobster Night even opened. Thousands of students of all grades were eager to participate.
“This is actually my first time trying lobster, so I think what better setting than Boston itself?” freshman Kalli Papantoniou said. “’It’s really nice to be a community and share this meal together.”
Lobster Night will return next year, keeping the tradition alive — though the lobsters won’t be.
“Traditions are very important to institutions, and this is one that lots of students look forward to,” Riley said. “It’s always interesting to see people face off with their first boiled lobster.”