This year at Anderson, Chatham has upped their dining services tremendously. Much of this has to do with the expansion of Bravisimo’s dining experiences. During lunch hours, Bravisimo features different dishes to tempt your taste buds. Korean tacos, build-your-own broth bowls, firecracker shrimp, and many other unique foods have been prepared by the beloved cook, Casey Haughey. For the first few months of the semester, Casey became a familiar sight to most students, jamming out to music while whipping up something spectacular.
However, lately, Casey has been absent from the Bravissimo scene and students have begun to question: Where is Casey? During the past few weeks, while Casey was missing from the dining room, the question arose as to whether he had left Chatham. When he was around the kitchen, curiosity struck.
“Casey has been promoted to our PM sous chef position. This is why he has not been at the Bravisimo station,” said Rob Coyne, general manager of dining services at Chatham.
According to Coyne, over the past few weeks, Casey has been cooking and overseeing the kitchen at night, while they’ve been searching for a steady replacement.
“This is a great opportunity for him,” said Coyne.
Monday, November 9, Casey was seen at Bravisimo one last time. He was training his replacement Megan Elstner, an Art Institute Culinary School graduate.
“She is just starting her career in the kitchen and this is a great place for [her to] learn and expand her culinary knowledge and also bring some new ideas from the culinary school to us,” said Coyne.
“I used to work at a bar, and as much as I liked it, I needed to expand my horizons,” said Elstner. “Chatham was something completely different than the bar scene. I’m excited to cook different things each day instead of sticking to the same menu.”
“We all care about serving the best food possible to the students [and] staff,” said Haughey. “As for Megan, our new Bravo cook, she will be just fine. [She] just has to get a rhythm, and I’m sure the students and staff will welcome her as they all did me.”
While Casey and Megan make the transition into their new experiences in the Chatham kitchen, students are told to expect one hundred percent from the kitchen staff. Their goal is to prepare food the same way they would want to eat it and to provide delicious meals. The Chatham Community is also to expect more gluten-free options in the near future.
“Everyone in our kitchen gives their best to provide a welcoming dining experience.” said Haughey.
“I think the students should look forward to having a good laugh when they’re at my station. I love making someone’s day because I know that college can be stressful,” said Elstner.
Students and staff alike are curious to see what it is that Haughey, Elstner, and the rest of the Anderson crew will be bringing to the table. Literally.