At 1:34 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29, there was chaos. For 14 minutes at Leo J. O’Donovan, S.J., Dining Hall, there was not a single chicken tender to be had.
It was pretty clear: When it comes to violating traditions, daring Hoyas can skip the Halloween showing of The Exorcist, infiltrate the Stewards or even stomp all over the seal. But no one had better mess with the crispy, golden strips of tender chicken that have become a Thursday tradition at Georgetown.
On Sept. 29, students were miffed.
Just the Facts
What are they? From whence do they come? Why do so many more people eat at Leo’s on Thursday? In the spirit of Traditions Day it seems reasonable to spill some ink in an effort to learn about a ritual that is celebrated by students alone, and to debunk some of the myths surrounding Chicken Tender Thursdays. A little research revealed that this weekly phenomenon is quite a complicated – and misunderstood – little holiday.
Steven Gibbs, director of resident dining, said that Georgetown has changed the brand of chicken tenders served at Leo’s once – from the Arkansas-based Tyson Foods Chicken Tenders to Illinois’ Koch Foods – not seven times as some people believe.
This is no small change. Leo’s serves approximately 6,750 meals on an average day, according to university statistics. About 2,700 of those meals are served during lunch, but Chicken Tender Thursday, as students continue to demonstrate, is no average lunch.
Actually, Thursdays do not turn out to be that special.
“Statistically speaking, there is not a significant increase in the number of meals served on Thursday lunch,” Gibbs says. However, “more students seem to go to the entree line on the upper level on Thursdays and on the other days students distribute themselves equally to all of the formats: pizza, vegetarian, entree and grill.”
Chicken Culture and Politics
Nevertheless, students have created a culture of mystery, power and fame for these humble pieces of chicken. “Students love the chicken tenders and some have expressed that they would like to see them served everyday,” Gibbs says.
The details of Chicken Tender Thursdays peel away the layers of Georgetown’s collective personality – or at least its eating habits. A thousand pounds of chicken are ordered every Tuesday to feed the appetites of 2,700 people at Thursday lunch. It is estimated that each student will eat seven tender pieces of fried poultry flesh in one sitting.
“We haven’t run out yet,” Gibbs says. He obviously did not endure those painstaking 14 minutes of no chicken tenders in late September.
What About the Students?
How exactly was all this pomp and pageantry injected into Chicken Tender Thursday? After all, the product is a piece of food not unique to the campus dining experience.
“A lot of people say that it’s their entire reason for having a meal plan,” says Katherine Ross (COL ’06), “but I don’t even like the chicken fingers that much. The ones at Wisey’s and [The] Tombs are much better.”
Many students feel that the excitement of Chicken Tender Thursdays is a result of dining mediocrity. Madeleine Nguyen (COL ’08) says she didn’t understand the fuss when she arrived at Georgetown.
“I don’t see how it’s any better than the other stuff they serve at Leo’s,” she says.
Chicken Tender Style
After the battle is over, the tongs and swords are left behind, and one can at last be alone with his or her steamy chicken, there remains one question: Is there any wrong way to eat a chicken tender? Gibbs prefers to saturate his in a combination of the Lawry’s Honey Mustard and Open Pit Barbecue Sauce. Some prefer to top their chicken with ketchup or potatoes au gratin. Others use their chicken to make sandwiches. The possibilities may very well be endless.
Chicken Tender Thursdays. Chicken Finger Thursdays. CFT. It’s called many things, but never “insignificant.” Even people who shy away from the event itself agree that Thursday lunch at Leo’s is more than a meal. Temporary shortages notwithstanding, it is a Georgetown tradition.
