They are paid for by meal plans that count as income and are paid out as an expense… that’s how a budget works

After you mentioned the private chefs I tried searching for private chefs at Stanford and there was no prior job histories for it or current job openings for it. They have an executive chef but that is a dining hall position.

They aren’t hosting constant galas and most schools have contracts with companies like Sysco that require all catering events on campus to be supplied by Sysco so it’s not like it’s super high quality food either