Catering
If you have any questions, please contact the JCR Catering Officer.
Online services
Pelican Bar
The Pelican Bar serves a hot breakfast Sunday-Friday, during Full Term. The bar also serves sandwiches, baguettes, wraps and plenty of snacks. Alcohol is available in the evenings, with pints costing around ?2.35 and cheap bottles of wine costing around ?8.50 (ideal for Formal). Everything from the bar can be charged to your University Card to be added onto your College bill (though you can use cash if you prefer).
Opening hours
During Full Term, the Pelican Bar opening hours are:
| Mon-Thurs | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Breakfast | 08:15am-09:15am | 08:15am-09:15am | – | 09:00am-10:00am |
| Day Hours | 08:15am-02:00pm | 08:15am-02:00pm | 12:00pm-11:00pm | 9:00am-02.00pm |
| Evening Hours | 06:30pm-10:30pm | 06:30pm-11:00pm | 12:00pm-11:00pm | 06:30pm-11:00pm |
Outside of Full Term but within the 30-week room lease period, the bar serves breakfast at the adjusted time of 8.30am-9am, Monday-Friday. It otherwise follows the opening hours for Full Term as shown in the table above.
Outside of the 30-week room lease periods, breakfast is not available and the bar is only open 10.30am-2pm, Monday-Friday.
Prices
Hall
Hall serves hot meals for lunch and dinner every day during term, except Saturday when only brunch is available. Full meals are reasonably priced and everything can be charged to your University Card to be added onto your College bill (though you can use cash if you prefer).
A vegetarian option is always provided. In addition, Halal meat and food to meet other dietary requirements (in most cases) is available on request – please contact the Executive Head Chef to arrange this. Currently, chicken and fish dishes are Halal. Do ask the chef and he will find out!
Opening hours
During Full Term, Hall is normally open at the following times:
| Mon – Thurs | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Brunch | – | – | 12pm-1.30pm | – |
| Lunch | 12pm-1.30pm | 12pm-1.30pm | – | 12.30pm-1.30pm |
| Dinner | 6pm-7pm | 6pm-6.50pm | – | 6pm-6.50pm |
Outside of Full Term, lunch remains from 12-1.30 and dinner is served from 6-6.30pm in Hall, Sunday-Friday. Brunch does not continue outside of Full Term.
Outside of Full Term and occasionally during term time, there may be some changes to the regular Hall service, but you’ll be given plenty of notice of this via an email from Catering or Tutorial. The JCR Committee will also try and include these changes in the JCR Calendar to remind you. If it is necessary to cancel Hall during Full Term, an alternative service will be provided in the Pelican Bar. If Hall is cancelled on a weekday outside of Full Term, undergraduates are invited to eat at Leckhampton. You’ll need to sign out a Leckhampton key from the Porters’ Lodge so that you can get in though!
Menus
Menus for lunch and evening meals in Hall can be found here.
Prices
Formal Hall
Corpus offers Formal Hall three times a week, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday during Full Term. You can purchase tickets online using the UPayChilli online event booking system. Login to Upay here.
Tickets are around ?11 for yourself and ?14 for your guests.
You can bring up to three guests, but should remember that you are solely responsible for their behaviour. If you wish to bring more guests, you should contact the Catering Office. Permission for more than three guests will only be granted in exceptional circumstances. If you have difficulties in booking formals, allergy issues etc. again please email the Catering Office who will promptly work to assist you.
The rules for Formal Hall are as follows:
- You must be seated by 7.30pm.
- You must wear a jacket and tie (or equivalent).
- Gowns must be worn by members of the University for the duration of the dinner.
- The use of mobile phones is not permitted.
- Photography is not permitted while the Fellows are present.
- You can bring one bottle of white, red, rose or sparkling wine measuring up to 75cl. Spirits, vermouth, liquors, brandy, port, beer and ales are not permitted.
- It is considered bad manners to leave the table for any reason until formal is over. You will not be physically barred from leaving hall to go the toilet, or from coming back in, but please try to avoid it. Leaving as a group is even more disruptive.
Formal Hall Menus
Formal Hall menus may be found here.
Dress Code
The College Rules require students to wear a gown and dress smartly for Formal Hall, with a jacket and tie or equivalent being suggested. The reason for this is so that everyone shares the sense of Formal Hall as being a special occasion where people have made an effort to dress smartly, with the gown expressing common membership of a famous and historic institution.
Where traditional dress can comfortably and sensibly be worn together with a gown, the wearer does not need to seek the permission to wear their traditional dress. Dispensing with the gown, however, would require the Dean’s permission. All you need to do is email the Dean asking permission to not wear your gown with your traditional dress.
The Rules suggest that you wear “a jacket and tie (or equivalent)” – but this isn’t actually all that helpful!“Jacket and tie” can be
- Jacket, tie (or bow tie), shirt and trousers (jeans are hard to get away with, but you could if you wanted)
- A suit (black tie not required!)
- “Dresses are always a good choice” – this is… really not that helpful
- “Elegant attire ranging from sophisticated separates to tasteful dresses” – this sounds like it’s helpful, but does anyone actually have any idea what it means?
- “A black cocktail dress on or below the knee” – sounds good, but this is definitely not the only option
- “An evening gown or cocktail dress” – this is a bit more formal than necessary, but who’s going to stop you?!
- “A dress ranging in length from just above the knee to about two inches above the ankle. Alternatively, a nice skirt or trousers with a shirt” – finally, something that tells you precisely what to wear… feel free to ignore it!
Importantly “jacket and tie” and “equivalent” are options for everyone, no matter your gender; ties or dresses can look fabulous on anyone.
Food Policies
Student Dinners
If you would like to book Hall or the Bacon/Parker Rooms for a student or society dinner, please email Conferencing.
Gyp rooms
If you want to cook for yourself, all staircases have gyp rooms (kitchens). The most basic are no more than a microwave, sink and fridge, whilst others have ovens, hobs and freezers. If you have any problems with the facilities in your gyp room, please email the Conference & Accommodation Manager.
You are not permitted to cook in your room and with the exception of a kettle, you are not allowed any of your own cooking appliances. If you do bring your own appliances, these are likely to be removed without warning and disposed of within a week. Tutorial will inform you of any removals. Similarly, you are not permitted to install a personal fridge in your room. If you require a fridge for medical reasons, please email the Tutorial Office.
Microwave Recipes
Some recipes for light meals and snacks that you can prepare using just a microwave can be found below.
Kitchen Fixed Charge
Kitchen Fixed Charge (KFC) is a fixed, compulsory contribution to the overhead costs of the catering operation, applied termly to all live-in undergraduates’ and postgraduates’ College accounts, whether or not the individual eats meals in the College. These overhead cost elements include labour (Chefs’, Food Service Assistants’, Kitchen Porters’, etc. salaries and associated employment costs), rates, insurance, equipment, maintenance, cleaning and utilities (gas, electricity and water). You can find out how KFC is calculated for your room lease here.
KFC Surcharge
When purchasing items in Hall (or kitchen prepared meals from the Pelican Bar if Hall is cancelled), you will be required to hand over your University card so that the Catering staff can identify you as being a KFC payer or a non-KFC payer. All non-KFC payers, guests and cash-paying customers will then be charged an additional 30% on the advertised prices as their contribution towards KFC.
If you are charged the KFC surcharge and you are a KFC payer, please ask for a receipt and take this to the Finance Office, who will refund the surcharge for you.
Catering queries
If you have any questions about Catering in general, or would like to offer feedback on the Catering service, please email the Catering Manager. Alternatively, the Catering Office is located in U staircase (room U3) and is open 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. The Catering Office is closed for lunch 1-2pm. You can also contact the Catering Manager on 01223 3(38024).