On Oct. 14, 2004, a feature story ran titled "Service with a Smile." The article provokes thought over the role of university staff in the lives of students. Chef Ed Brown has left a memorable mark on multiple students that I feel compelled to dedicate a column to him.
When I came to campus as a freshman, the size of the UConn community was quite intimidating to me. One of the first UConn employees I met was Brown. In the small dining hall setting of Morgan-Lafayette, Brown popped his head out of his kitchen on that first day to talk to students while trying to learn each and everyone's name.
Now I am a senior and the last of the small dining units are gone. Yet, despite it all Brown still manages to come out of his kitchen in Ryan in order to learn the names of hundreds of students to attempt to make them feel welcome.
Because of his friendly presence, the small dining hall in Towers that he worked in was known as "Ed's Kitchen." After working at Ryan dining hall in Alumni for little more than a month, Ryan has already been dubbed "Ed's Diner." Such a reputation of respect among the students is a testament to his personality and his cooking ability. No matter where he has gone, whether it be Buckley or Ryan, Brown has "kicked it up a notch" and made noticeable improvements in the quality of the food being offered.
The message of Brown is clear-cut. With him, what you see is what you get. There are no facades or tricks - although he may make a humorous joke that tricks the mind. Brown is a shining example for UConn staff and chefs around campus.
When the student body thinks of the people who serve the university community, students are quick to think of professors and administration. The long-lost, not fully appreciated and often forgotten members of the university community are the staff members who seek to serve students outside of the classroom. They are the chefs in the dining halls, the cleaning crew in the dormitories and the secretaries in the administrative offices.
Some make a case that the administration at this university has little loyalty to the university community. Some of the highest-level administrators have been viewed as using UConn as simply a steppingstone for high-level jobs at other prestigious universities. Such may be the case with the administration, but such is not the case with the UConn staff - many of whom have worked at this university for more than 30 years because they love UConn and they love the students they work with.
They are the people in the dining halls much like Brown, Marilyn Delaney, Pat Bilodeau and Toni Edgar. They are the Marlene Coughlin's of the office staff and people like Housekeeper Sharon of Beecher-Vinton. When the going gets tough for students who find themselves far from the support of their parents, it is the personal bonds with these staffers that often provide much needed support.
Every staff person has their own great stories behind their hard-working faces. Chef Ed and I have been known to go out on the town together. Chef Bruce from Towers and I have been known to play a competitive game of racquetball with each other. Students are grateful for a friendly face that remembers a name at a university where it is easy to become a number.
For those chefs who work in large dining halls, being friendly can be difficult with so many students. Yet I have seen it on numerous occasions, whether it be a smile on the face of the chef standing over a grill that makes the body sweat or a quick remark of "hello" or "enjoy the stir-fry." The reverse is true for students. If you enjoy Chef Rob's beefsteak chili - make sure you tell him it was good. Feel free to say thank your to your housekeeper for the extra candy she leaves in your bathroom.
Brown has now been a part of my life for almost four years. He knows my parents, he knows my interests and he knows where he can reach me. He is not afraid to offer a friendly hug when he sees me. All of this is because he took the time to say hello and get to know me.
Chef Ed is still a big kid at heart. He is someone who shows up to work with a smile on his face no matter how early in the morning he works. He always seems to come up with a spontaneous joke that puts a smile on a student's face. Brown realizes that the students are why he is still here at UConn. For this reason, he goes out of his way to be their chef and their servant. Brown will sit down at a table of students while his food is cooking to see how they think it tastes. He will sit down with a student to ask about how the exam that she told him about the day before turned out.
I have only the highest amount of praise for Brown. His food is good enough to allow him to open his own restaurant, yet after 38 years he is here because he loves kids and he is still a kid at heart. As we graduate and enter into the workforce, we should learn from Brown. Never stop loving what you do - and if you do, change it. Never stop smiling. Never forget you are always a teenager at heart no matter how old you are. Most importantly, never forget that by serving others you may touch the heart of someone without ever knowing it.
Therefore, to Chef Ed, I say thank you for being an important part of our UConn experience. You are a model worker for us all. You are our "Iron Chef."
Sources:
http://www.dailycampus.com/news/2004/10/14/News/Service.With.A.Smile-753410.shtml
Be the first to comment on this article!