COVER STORY
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6
December 2011
doesn’t have a heart but he does. He absolutely does. He does a
lot of things that people don’t know about.”
Chuck, along with Beam, said his job has many facets.
“I have three employers,” Chuck said. “I work doing my
best to keep students happy, I work doing my best to keep the
college administration happy, and the company I work for ex-
pects me to keep both happy while making a profit. And that is a
challenge, especially with the food demand increases.”
Chuck said he used to be almost completely in charge of the
menu selection, but over the years he has given some of this over
to his chef Jerry, although Chuck does have the final authority
on what meals will be provided. Chuck said “he has a better feel
and touch” for the food selection job.
Chuck’s favorite meal at Chuck’s was a “big vat of soup,
beans, ham, and cornbread.” However, Chuck said this course
was not very well received by students and is no longer served.
Chuck is provided with a SGA Culinary committee that
helps him to determine what foods are most popular and what
are not. He said he also keeps very good “production records” so
he knows how much of certain courses students eat.
“The key is to provide a good quality product, and still
make a profit,” Chuck said. “There’s a balance. You have to be
somewhat flexible and adjust to your clientele.”
Sometimes the clientele do the unexpected, Chuck said.
One such event happened when the cafeteria was still in Tyler
years ago. During a midnight breakfast near the holiday season,
Chuck said he dressed up as Santa Claus and walked through the
cafeteria “pitching candy canes” at the students. At that point,
students began throwing things back at him, and soon the entire
cafeteria broke out in a food fight. With a smile, Chuck said he
didn’t plan on doing that again any time soon, “not after that
“Plan for tomorrow. Live for
today. Tomorrow’s always
going to be there, but you
have to take care of today’s
responsibilities – and also
enjoyments. Enjoy being
young — I did. Don’t take
yourself too seriously. ...
Worry about the things that
will matter.”
Chuck McKinney
Philosopher
Photo by Andrew Bash
Chuck doesn’t do as much of the meal planning as he used to do. He relies heavily on Chef Jerry because “he has a better feel and touch” for the job.
