A large extended family meant many family meals for Patti Klos, director of dining and business services at 9,100-student Tufts University in Medford, Mass. Helping in the kitchen for those meals inspires her in her role at Tufts.
“I grew up with a large extended family so meals around all the holidays were really important. It was not unusual to have 30 or 40 people. I had 16 first cousins, but I was the next to youngest so most of those cousins were married with their own kids. When the meal was next door at my grandmother’s house, I was the one who knew where all the tablecloths, serving dishes, etc. were so helping out with that stuff was fun.
With those meals, I really enjoyed the connection and community of being able to satisfy people through food. Every- one made something different—my grandmother made this amazing oyster dressing.
I also detasseled corn when I was 15 or 16. I grew up in rural Indiana where they grow hybrid corn. Farmers hired teenagers in the summer to detassel the corn, which controls how the plants are pollinated. In order to get a hybrid corn plant, you have to remove the tassels from one type so the other type can pollinate the corn.
I also worked at McDonalds. It helped me save money for school. Everyone at my school lived in the country, so everyone used to go to McDonalds as the social thing to do after a football game. I saw a lot of friends coming through.
These experiences with food translated into my desire to actually go to college and get into foodservice. It didn’t occur to me that I should go to culinary school. However, I went to Purdue where I realized there was such a thing as college foodservice that was an actual profession. If you look at my Twitter account, I think I describe myself as someone commit- ted to creating community through great food and memorable experiences. It inspires me to this day with the feeeling I try to create with the foodservice here at Tufts where everyone is welcome.”