THE CRAFT OF CULINARY
BY TANNER SMITH ILLUSTRATION BY HADLEY FAIN
Culinary Services is an integral aspect of Ohio University, feeding thousands of mouths each day. In addition to keeping the dining halls running, it also provides catering services for many events and it supplies students with their much-needed daily dose of caffeine at the cafés on campus.
Cassie Meek, marketing and design manager for Culinary Services, has fun every day at work. Though her job description is supporting all Culinary Service locations with marketing and design needs, Meek mainly works on signage and general outreach to make sure word gets out about all of the different aspects of Culinary Services. She does projects with her crafty team of 10 student interns that include photography, videography, animations, and social media.
“It seems like I am hanging out with a bunch of fun people and feeding students and faculty and staff by helping them get the word out,” Meek said.
Social media is one of Culinary Services’ most useful methods of outreach, Meek said, and successfully reaching the right audience is no small task. The social media team has a lot to do on a daily basis in order to get information out to the Athens community. Recently, Meek said Culinary Services is working with new software: AI technology.
“AI is in everything, and that makes it even more fun learning about that together and trying to figure out how we can integrate that into every aspect of what we’re doing,” Meek explained. “There’s just so many layers to social media to keep in mind when doing the outreach.”
She said Chat GPT and other AI software assisted her team greatly. Meek said it has helped to streamline Culinary Services. The process of getting food on everybody’s plates is complicated, and this new technology helps her wrap her mind around it.
Meek also discussed the reality of complaints.
“If one student submits something or talks to the cook and says that the taste is different today, we’re going to have a meeting about it,” Meek said.”It’s not that often, but when it happens, everyone gets involved.”
Olivia Erdman, a student leader at Nelson Market, loves her job.
“It has a lot of freedom with what you can do,” Erdman said. “We have a lot of customization of how we feel the store should go. The Culinary Services hiring system as a whole is really flexible with how you can schedule hours and they work around your school schedule first.”
Erdman also said if a university or class event overlaps with when a student is supposed to work, they can get their shift excused for the day.
Erdman said she, like the rest of the Nelson Market staff, gets a free meal each shift. She also likes the food and the operation.
“I think it’s really hard to cook for the amount of students who come in,” Erdman said. “I think they are doing good for what they are able to do. They’re making the best out of the resources that are provided to them. There are so many restrictions when serving that many people.”
The different dining courts also have an array of diverse options for all the students and faculty. For example, Kalamata Leaf is known for being more Italian-centered, while Bamboo Bowl offers students and faculty international Asian cuisine. OH! yOU cookin'? is one of the newest food concepts on campus, presenting students with homestyle cooking from different cultures. Occasionally, student organizations contribute if a particular heritage month or events is taking place to ensure the dishes are up to standard.
Cafe at Factory Street specifically stands out as a hidden gem, Meek said
“Cafe at Factory Street is, in my opinion, one of our most beautiful locations,” Meek said. “I think everyone should come here and see it once. A lot of people don't think about it unless they are in [medical] school, which is great for them, but I hope everyone else will also infiltrate it.”
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone had to adjust to a different type of life, isolating themselves from others in fear of the sickness. While people were secluded in their respective residence hall rooms, prepping boxed meals was the COVID-efficient way Culinary Services functioned. Shively Dining Hall shut down, and jobs were lost. However, Culinary Services is finally back in full-force with an array of different offerings that have been restored to their pre-pandemic glory.
