Award-winning singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’08, surprised Fordham students and the general public when she was spotted at the Fordham Lincoln Center campus on March 20. Critically acclaimed for her lyrics and cinematic melodies, Del Rey’s sighting was shocking because she was clocking in for her shift at the Ram Café.
Clad in a black visor, hairnet and apron, the 11-time Grammy nominee seamlessly blended in behind the counter at Freshens, a campus favorite spot for weekday lunches. However, word of Del Rey’s presence quickly spread, and the Ram Café was soon packed with students hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star serving up salads, rice bowls and crunchadillas.
This is not Del Rey’s first foray into the food service industry. Back in July 2023, she was seen working at a Waffle House in Florence, Alabama, where she served one customer a Coke and an empty cup for chewing tobacco. Unlike her brief stint at Waffle House, however, Del Rey worked tirelessly throughout the entire post-1 p.m. class lunch rush to serve hungry Fordham students at Freshens.
Rapid discussions of Del Rey’s activities went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter. On the same day, Ramona Ramsey (@maroonbanisters), Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’26, posted “no way lana del rey just made my strawberry & kale salad.” The tweet amassed over 50,000 likes. Ramsey later added: “i found a cigarette stub in my strawberry & kale salad so coquette!!”
Besides the excitement of having a Del Rey salad, Ramsey also had other opinions to share on her food.
“I was honestly very disappointed by the quality of the salad,” Ramsey said. “But I can’t deny that it was quintessentially Lana Del Rey.”
Ramsey was not the only student who had complaints about Del Rey’s service skills. “She completely drowned my pesto chicken flatbread in ranch dressing,” Rosa Hyll, FCLC ’27, said. “She even stuck a little American flag in it. Incredibly patriotic, but it’s not what I wanted.”
The tracklist of the album seems to feature various references to the university, including titles like “Columbus and Amsterdam,” “Lowenstein,” “Seven-thirty Ram Van” and “Tania Tetlow Interlude.”
Despite Del Rey’s questionable cuisine skills, the line for Freshens was exponentially longer than usual, extending out of the Ram Café’s doors. An excited chatter filled the lobby of the Leon Lowenstein Center as students eagerly waited to get a glimpse of the pop star.
“My friends and I love Lana Del Rey. The first time we went to Rose Hill, we stood around the Lana shrine in Keating and sang ‘Young and Beautiful’ in three-part harmony. We were hoping to summon Lana, and I guess it worked,” Hyll said.
Ramsey echoed this adoration of Del Rey, saying, “I had her sign my arm. I think I’m going to get it tattooed.”
While Del Rey’s motives for entering the food service industry are not officially known, some fans suspect the appearance was to promote Del Rey’s highly anticipated upcoming album, “Did you know that there are tunnels under Fordham University Lincoln Center.” Further fueling this theory, the tracklist of the album seems to feature various references to the university, including titles like “Columbus and Amsterdam,” “Lowenstein,” “Seven-thirty Ram Van” and “Tania Tetlow Interlude.”
On the other hand, some fans suspect that Del Rey is serious about her job at Freshens, arguing that she may simply be in need of some supplemental income — in today’s streaming-ruled era of music, many artists are struggling, making a fraction of a cent per play.
“its so sad that that lana was so snubbed by the scammys that she has to get another job” X user @lanaslipstick posted. The sentiment was shared with many other online stans, who all seem to agree that Del Rey deserved some acknowledgment at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Despite the mixed reviews of Del Rey’s culinary skills, her unexpected presence at the Ram Café sparked a fervor among Fordham students, leaving the campus community buzzing with excitement and critique. As photos and anecdotes flooded timelines, it became clear that Del Rey’s impromptu shift had left a mark not only on Fordham students but on pop culture as a whole.
