Monday, March 7, 2022
Taylor’s Restaurant provides unique dining experience part of the globe each week. Cochran said students learn about the culture of each area as they cook, helping them become versatile in their cooking abilities. This semester, students will cook dishes from Italy, China, France, Spain, Cuba and more. “We also have a week of HeartDru Norton land cuisine, which is food you would News Editor typically find in the South, and the kind we are used to,” Cochran said. “So, we do a bit of everything.” Before arriving at OSU six years Taylor’s Restaurant is not a typical ago, Cochran was an executive chef in restaurant, it also serves as a teaching Stockholm, Sweden, for 35 years. He school. specialized in fine dining and hotels. From the food to the service, Deciding he wanted a change, Oklahoma State University’s HospitalCochran earned his bachelor’s degree in ity and Tourism Management students food service operations and restaurant compose the staff of Taylor’s, in 170 management at Aspen University in Nancy Rudolph Davis Building. Each Denver in 2011. He earned his master’s student has multiple duties to ensure the in education assessments and outcomes restaurant runs smoothly. at the same university in 2019. Mark Cochran is an executive “Cooking is a passion,” Cochran chef and instructor of practice at Taysaid. “It never felt like a job. Now, being lor’s, spending most of his time in the an instructor, I love getting to see these kitchen, teaching students how to cook students find their passion and what various cuisines from around the world. they enjoy doing.” “When the students walk in, it’s As freshmen, students enroll in a a brand-new menu,” Cochran said. “As class called food studies, learning the a 21st century kid, they better know basic techniques of cooking. The next the world. If they can’t converse in all year, students must enroll in restaurant styles of food, they are going to be in operations, the class marking their trouble.” start at Taylor’s. For eight weeks of the Served buffet-style, Taylor’s semester, students are divided into two changes its cuisine to reflect another groups: front of the house (where cus-
tomers order and dine) and back of the house (the kitchen). The students switch positions during the last eight weeks of the semester. “It’s a very fast-paced program, but our students can handle it,” Cochran said. “By the end of the semester, they walk out with the knowledge and experience needed to further their career.” Front of the house duties include hosting, serving patrons and clearing tables as the students working the back of the house cook and prepare the food. That way, students have knowledge of how to run a restaurant in all areas, Cochran said. For some students, this is their first time working in a restaurant. “It’s something we do differently here at OSU, giving students that handson experience in the kitchen and interacting with guests,” Cochran said. “I think it’s one of the major reasons why this program is so successful. It’s what makes us unique.” When students finish with lunch service at Taylor’s, they have a “family meal” together, eating the rest of the food served that day. Cochran said this allows students to experience the different flavor profiles of each dish and gives them a chance to rest and talk to one another after a busy service. Pierce Jones, a senior, said he enjoys the moments after the shift ends, when he and his colleagues gather
around a big table in the middle of Taylor’s, tasting each dish. “It’s really cool because even though we are all at different stages in our college career, we still work together and run a restaurant,” Jones said. “We’ve all grown to know each other well. Most people in other majors can’t say that.” As a senior, Jones was selected as front of the house manager. He is responsible for training and supervising the team of underclassmen working in the front of the house. For the second half of the semester, he will switch to back of the house manager. After graduation, Jones wants to work as a manager at a restaurant. “I’ve grown up in the restaurant business, and I’ve always enjoyed it,” Jones said. “I love cooking, interacting with people and the fast-paced environment.” When the program began in 1937, it had another name: the School of Hospitality and Restaurant Administration. Since then, the program has expanded and made several changes. In 2017, it was renamed the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
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Chilly Cowboy’s cool origin Ben Hutchens Staff Reporter
that was held during Saturday’s men’s basketball game and a polar plunge part held Monday, with select members of the OSU community jumping into water, depending on how much money was raised. Alexander brought up the idea at a bible study the Shrums hosted. Darren Shrum said he was in, and the pair found several different teams willing to offer items for donations. “In athletics everybody’s been on board from the start,” Alexander said. “Just getting everybody to understand… why exactly we’re doing it, what it looks like what they need to do, and getting everybody on the same page with that stuff. But once they all learned it’s been great. It helped a lot.” The philanthropy event has surpassed its $10,000 goal, meaning football coach Mike Gundy, men’s basketball coach Mike Boynton and OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum will take the plunge. The event is scheduled to begin Monday at noon outside the student union. “It’s gonna be great to see Gundy get his hair wet,” Shrum said. “I can’t wait.” Shrum said the motivation behind the Chilly Cowboy is more meaningful than Alexander’s desire to finally do something she’s been meaning to do since her freshman year. “Chelsea had such a true dedication and motivation to get this done not just because it’s her last year, but because it’s something she really believes in and something she wanted to see last forever,” Shrum said. “This is not going to be a one-time done deal with a Chilly Cowboy and we want this to last forever.”
Chelsea Alexander said she asked herself the question posed to her in a Wednesday press conference. “Why now?” Alexander, a graduate student outfielder on the OSU softball team, is launching a project with a cause near to her heart, the Chilly Cowboy. The event is tied in with First Cowboy Darren Shrum and OSU Athletics and will raise money for Special Olympics, benefitting kids with special needs. In high school, Alexander participated in events benefiting Special Olympics athletes. She said the plan was to continue the trend in college but got caught up in the busy student-athlete life and it never happened. An additional “COVID year” of eligibility gives Alexander another chance. “I’m like, ‘Man, I’m running out of time. If this is ever something I want to do I need to do it now,’” Alexander said. Alexander’s younger brother, Caden, has Down’s Syndrome. Caden is a regular in the stands at OSU softball games and the reason Alexander originally got involved supporting the Special Olympics. “When Caden was born, it changed things in my family and for myself, just the aspect that I have on life, the outlook,” Alexander said. “And so, it’s just really become important to me to give back in any way that I can.” The event will have two sports.ed@ocolly.com parts, a fundraising portion
Courtesy of O’Colly OSU right fielder Chelsea Alexander high fiving youth on field before the Oklahoma State vs. Wichita State softball game on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at Cowgirl Stadium in Stillwater.