by Daniel Covington
Last semester, it was obvious the food at Centre was on a downhill spiral. Many students complained about just about everything – from raw chicken at Cowan, to burnt nuggets at Late Night, and everything in between. It was clear that something had to be done. Last semester, Centre and Parkhurst chose to go a different direction with dining. Everything changed when Chef Desmond Young was brought on.
Today, we bring you an interview with this chef.
Introduction to Chef Desmond Young
“I was born and raised in a small town in North Carolina. My grandmother was a chef, that’s where I got my passion from; I saw this at a very young age.”
Desmond graduated from McDonnell School of Culinary Art and has been working in the industry for over 20 years. “I’ve been married over 20 years and I have 4 children. Some of which are in college.”
Why Centre?
“Coming here, I saw a great opportunity to expand my horizons as far as what I am used to with dining. My first university was a pretty large one: Furman’s University in South Carolina. I wanted to get back to a bigger university – I was at Transylvania for 5 years, and it was a lot smaller – to have the opportunity to come and not only be involved with student dining but be involved with catering and some of the student organizations and sports. There are also a lot of festivals in Danville that we help with, which is very refreshing.
“I got a little taste of it last year. Seeing last year, this year we really want to blow it out of the water. Last semester was my first semester and coming from that to my second semester, I have plans for how we will do things in the winter semester. One of the great parts of Centre College is I have no ceiling as far as what I can do, which is very refreshing. And I noticed that the students here really like variety. They like the monotony-breakers that we do here sometimes.”
What needed to be addressed at Centre?
“Coming in, hearing all the complaints from the students, I saw there was a big need for teaching among staff. There was a big need for one-on-one coaching. I really wanted the employees to know that I didn’t want to just come in and beat you down, but we needed to find out what was so wrong, what you do know and what you don’t, so I can teach you so we can make this dining experience for the kids, faculty and staff a lot better than what it has been. You know, when you are hearing stuff like, ‘I’m going to save my meal swipes because I don’t want to eat here,’ that’s not a good thing. So we had to make some changes. Coming in, the changes were honestly not that hard to make. It’s all about taking food and putting in the same love you would put into anything else in every dish you make here. You have to be consistent. And teaching the staff that went a long way.
“Coming in, I got a stack of student surveys. And, actually, when I came here, I went off the survey that the complaints were coming from. There were 448 different students that had something to say. The major things the students were concerned with were vegetables not being washed, maybe some bugs and stuff, raw chicken, and menu mixing. This told me that the student experience was not up to par. Those surveys really gave me a great idea of how the students really felt. Based on the flavoring of the food, paying attention to what’s going on, and teaching the staff members that I am the head chef, but I don’t cook everything. It’s up to you, the staff, to make sure that you are putting the same flavor profile that I would put in my food, and that you need to have the same passion that I would put in my food. It’s like that old saying in sports: the team takes on the identity of the coach. That’s the same way with the kitchen, the kitchen has to take on that same identity, that same passion for the food, customer service, and most importantly, for whoever steps foot in the dining room, that they have a great experience.
“To help me run and enforce these same values, I brought over my right-hand man, Chef Ariel. We have the same passions and goals for how we want things to run. This makes it a lot easier to push forward the agenda as far as making sure our students are taken care of. That being said, he did come from the restaurant side of the industry, but this is a good thing because we have two different perspectives with the same set goals.”
Day-to-day responsibilities
“I’m considered a campus executive chef. So anything on this campus dealing with food, no matter what entity it is, I hear about it. There is also the fact that I need to make sure it’s being handled right at the same time. And that in that way, I tell the staff, I would rather be on the front end of it than have to be on the back end doing damage control when something’s going wrong. Now we just need to do it right the first time. And if you don’t know that, that’s why we teach you. To make sure if I’m not around, it’s still getting done.
“On the day to day, there are issues and stuff that go on before 8 o’clock in the morning, before lunch, during lunch, right before dinner. And as an executive chef, I try to put myself in a place where I can see all 3. At the same time, I’m also here long enough to communicate with my late night people and say, ‘hey, do you have everything you need? Do we need to make any changes?’
“And that is because in an executive chef role, you have to be able to see from here and also manage from here. And when you put yourself right in the middle, you’re kind of killing two birds with one stone. So that’s my day to day; sometimes I have to cook, sometimes I have to order my truck, put up my truck, inventory my truck. Make sure I’m a face out there for my staff. Make sure I’m walking the dining room and talking to the students, the ones I know and the ones I don’t know.. And also making sure that I’m a face also for the administrative staff and the faculty here for the school as well.”
What’s the future look like?
While I interviewed chef Desmond, it was apparent that he has a lot of passion and that he loves feedback. He really focuses on the experience of the students. So far, I think he is doing a pretty good job, and that also seems to be the general consensus among many students.
This doesn’t mean everything is perfect, of course, and Chef Desmond knows that. He expressed to me that even though he fixed some major issues, there is always room for improvement. He expressed the need for consistency in quality, but also more variety in the types of food – not only in Cowan but also in the 365 Café. To this, he said, “I had a lot of students ask if there’s any way they can get a meal out of 365 that they can heat up in the microwave and take back to their dorm room. So I think that right there is the next phase of how can I turn this into a backyard bistro type thing where you can come in and get, for example, a smoked half chicken with mac and cheese that you can take back to your dorm room. Pop it in your microwave, bam!”
Talking with chef Desmond, it was apparent that he was just getting started and that he intends to make the dining at Centre the best it has ever been. It’s clear he has the skills and resources to back that claim; now only time can tell to see if improvements continue.
In closing, Chef Desmond shared, “I would like the students to know that there’s an open door policy. Whether it’s myself, a chef, or a new GM – open door policy. Feel free to come into the office and have a talk. I don’t mind having lunch or dinner with somebody.”