Sage staff member Yolanda has been creating the intricate designs for the dining hall spa water for the past year. Every day, when students walk into the lunch line, they see containers with beautiful and intricate designs made up of fruits and vegetables. Creating refreshing water admired and enjoyed by staff and students alike, Yolanda works every day to make the water a creative and special part of Hockaday dining. To learn the process behind Hockaday’s spa water, the Fourcast spoke with both Yolanda and Sage General Manager Hillary Cox.

What is the process of making the spa water every day?

Hillary: So she goes to the fridge and sees what is there that day and what she wants to use. If there is any fruit or vegetables, like carrots, she uses those. She lets the person know who is buying it what she wants.

How do you arrange the fruit so that it can stay like that?

Yolanda: So first I cut the fruit, then I lay the container on its side. I layer all of the fruit into a design, and then I pack the ice on top. I have to be careful because any part of the fruit can move. If one piece moves, I have to start over.

How long have you been creating the designs?

Yolanda: One year. We had done it before, but before we just cut and threw the fruit into the water.

Hillary: She learned from someone else who did it — they came to Hockaday and taught her to do it.

Yolanda: I’m glad because the teachers, you know, they come in and love to see what I’m making and what fruit I’m using and they take pictures. And now other people take pictures and try to make it, too.

Has it ever happened that you have gotten [the design] and it’s broken and you’ve had to do it again?

Yolanda: No, never! But sometimes I don’t like the way it looks so I try to make it better.

Story by Libby Hill

Photos by Libby Hill