Rafi Taherian, executive director of Stanford Dining since 2005, will leave his post at the end of this month after 12 years of service to the University.

Taherian leaves Stanford to lead the Yale University dining team, as it transitions from outside contractor management to a self-management business model.

Eric Montell, currently Stanford Dining’s senior associate director, will act as executive director while the administration seeks a permanent replacement.

“The program is well taken care of,” Taherian said of Montell’s appointment. “The quality of Stanford Dining is just going to get better and better.”

Taherian said he was honored to join the Yale team, but recognized that leaving Stanford was hard.

“I really, really, really enjoyed my time here,” he said. “It’s been fantastic, transformational.”

After leaving the restaurant business, Taherian started his Stanford career as the senior chef and manager for Manzanita, Branner and Schwab dining halls in 1986.

“[At that time] we had cooks, but we didn’t have culinary leadership,” he said.

Since then, Taherian has recruited award-winning chefs such as Raul Lakara, now head chef for Schwab Dining Enterprises.

Working with such an amazing staff has been a blessing, he said, but noted that his time as a chef in Manzanita dining hall provided him with some of his favorite memories.

“Back then, students didn’t know what couscous was,” he said. “I well remember we were experimenting with new recipes, putting quinoa in things, and I had freshmen from the Midwest coming to me asking me why we were feeding them birdseed.”

He cited his relationships with Stanford staff and students as something that he will miss the most.

Taherian said that working with green organizations like Students for a Sustainable Stanford has also been a highlight of his time here and has yielded great improvements for Stanford Dining. He pointed out that approximately one quarter of Stanford Dining food is now grown locally.

Taherian said he is looking forward to working with Yale’s Sustainability Food Project to continue his commitment to green dining services.