Exeter bars deconstructed
When Exeter bars appear on the menu at Wetherell and Elm Street dining halls, the bakers typically make 1,200 servings to feed the hungry hordes. Weighing in at more than 140 pounds of batter, that includes about 35 pounds of chocolate chips and nearly 40 pounds of flour.
According to Don Doane, who was the dining director in the 1970s, the original recipe was for Congo bars. Members of the catering team made some modifications and later renamed the recipe — thus a perennial favorite at the dessert station was born.
A family-sized recipe of Exeter bars calls for 22.5 ounces of chocolate chips and makes 48 individual bars, which would cover half of one of the sheet pans used by the dining services bakers. One full sheet of bars contains 11 pounds of batter.
Every year, PEA’s Alumni and Parent Relations team sends an Exeter bar to each member of the previous year’s graduating class — providing a tasty reminder of Exeter while they’re studying in their college dorm rooms. About 250 bars are shipped annually, for a total of 1,250 bars over the past five years.
The Academy first started shipping Exeter bars to alumni in 2011.
