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Compliments to the Chef
S cott Turley

lot has changed in the culinary scene in Southeast Iowa In addition to his culi-
A since Scott Turley, CCE, executive chef and chief culinary nary improvements on cam-
officer arrived at Grinnell College 18 years ago. Turley had pus, Turley was a founder of
something to do with that. the local American Culinary
He first became interested in all things culinary when he Federation (ACF) chapter.
was a child. “When I was a second or third grade kid, I used “In Akron, at the restaurant
to rush home from school,” he said. “There were only three I worked at, the chef was the
channels. I would watch Merv Griffin all the time because he president of the local Ak-
would have James Beard on. Right after Merv Griffin, there ron/Canton chapter of the
was a show called the Galloping Gourmet with Graham Kerr. American Culinary Federa-
It was a cooking show and I loved watching that. I knew from tion. At my first meeting, I
then on that that was what I was going to do.” became the sergeant at arms.
After being part of the commercial foods program in high I have been a member since
school, he studied culinary arts at the University of Akron that day forward. When I got to Iowa, there really wasn’t any
in Ohio. Upon graduation, he worked at several local restau- active chapter so to speak. For a short time, there was an ACF
rants, before returning to the university with a position in of Iowa going, which was Des Moines-based. It was a small
campus dining. chapter and they were starting to do a few things. So I formed
After the University of Akron, Turley left to become Grin- a chapter, and they called it the Southeast Iowa chapter. I was
nell’s first — and only — executive chef, and a catalyst driving the founder of that, and worked to get the charter from the
some of the change that occurred in campus culinary during ACF for the chapter. We started with 13 members, and we
the next 18 years. are now over 70. That was in six years.”
One of his first changes was the style of service. “When I The college now has 11 ACF-certified chefs on staff, and
got here, we didn’t do any cooked-to-order, it was all just very Turley was recently asked to be a certification evaluator trainer
traditional cafeteria-style service,” he said. “One of the first for the ACF. “I would train the folks who do the evaluating
things we did was start cooking eggs to order in the morning. because we started practical testing here in Iowa right after
That was pretty groundbreaking for this crew here. Then 10 we got our chapter going,” he said. “I have had more than
years ago, we opened the Joe Rosenfield Center, which is the 26 of my staff members test, and not one failed. We keep
campus center, and it went to all cooked-to-order or cooked pushing and give our staff the opportunities for professional
to the line.” development, give them chances to go to conferences, and
Variety is also on the menu as evidenced by the Rosenfield opportunities to do that and compete if they want at an ACF-
Center. “We basically have seven little restaurants going now sanctioned event. I have a chef who is going to be competing
in the operation,” said Turley. “We have a little bit of every- at the NACUFS [the National Association of College and
thing happening here as far as offerings. You can get a pizza; University Food Services] regional.”
it is all scratch-made, including the dough. You can go to the For all of his work with the ACF, he was recently selected
sauté station and they will build your plate right there with for induction to its American Academy of Chefs (AAC). The
anything and the sauce. We do a couple of different sauces AAC is the honor society of the ACF and represents the high-
every day and a different pasta shape every day. We have a est standards of professionalism in the organization, society
grill station where we will do your burger and fries. You might and industry.
get a beer-batter cod there or grilled pork chop or something Beyond his work at the university and with the ACF, he
like that. We have a full four-burner wok station. We cook to is also member of the Iowa Department of Education Pro-
order every day.” Start Task Force. He is a member of the Advisory Board for
The campus also has a wide variety of international cuisines, culinary arts at Iowa Valley Community College and Indian
owing to the school’s diversity. “Grinnell College is a very Hills Community College. He was also the 2011 Iowa Chef
different school because we attract so much diversity here,” of the Year, and has earned 15 competition medals.
he said. “There are more than 50 countries represented here. —OCH
There is at least one student from every state in the nation. [It
isn’t] me teaching them about foods. It is the exact opposite
— they teach me. They do an international food bazaar every
year, so I am one of the judges for that. There are more than Know a chef who should be
70 entries. I look for things that we can highlight in our mar-
ketplace in our dining hall. We award three winners a year.” featured in the pages of
When the winners are chosen, Dining works with them to
develop their recipes to serve in the dining venues. “We have On-Campus Hospitality?
them try it, make sure they are happy with it, and we will put
it on our menu and have 500 servings,” said Turley. “We do Contact us at Greggw@ebmpubs4.com.
that every year. It is a lot of fun.”

12 | MARCH 2017 ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY