This fall, Harvard's Dining Services new motto might be, "If we knew you were coming, we'd have baked you a cake."

Under its enterprising operations director, the dining service has expanded a year-old fledgling catering business to include cake-ordering by telephone.

"We're not looking to put Montilio's out of business," said Richard J. Montville, referring to the bakery chain.

Instead Montville, who is the dining service's assistant director for operations, hopes to meet the demands of a captive student audience. Montville said he has received numerous requests from students for cakes over the years.

"There were also a lot of requests from parents" for cakes to be sent to their children on their birthdays, he said. Harvard Student Agencies, the student-run campus business, offers a comparable service.

In the dining service option, stu- dents place orders through any of the housedining halls or the Union a few days ahead oftime. And in this case, the icing on the cake isliterally just that. The dining service fillscustom orders and decorates for birthdays andother events.

For the cost-conscious, a 10-inch round cakecosts $15 and a double layered cheesecake $25.Comparable prices for the smaller size are $24 atHSA and between $29 and $35 at Rosie'sBakery--home of the "chocolate orgasm"--onHampshire St.

"We won't do one of those X-rated cakes,"Montville said.

For the cheesecake, Rosie's charges about $23to $27 for a single-layer while HSA asks $18.90.But the student agency also offers the special"Batman" cake.

Montville said that Dining Services does notplan to advertise the service.

Some students interviewed yesterday thought theservice was a half-baked idea.

'A Good Idea'

"It's a good idea... not having to go offcampus to buy a birthday cake for a friend,"Sheela N. Magge '92 said.

But Bettina A. Deines '92, a transfer studentaffiliated with Dudley House, said, "I'd ratherbake a cake for a friend" than buy one