ROANOKE, Va. – For students, their college campus can be their home away from home, which is why one local campus chef is still finding ways to feed comforting campus favorites to those missing them during the pandemic.
Matt Phillips is Roanoke College’s executive chef. From overseeing 3,500 meals a day to now just 30, Phillips’ new schedule allows him the time to create cooking videos for students. He’s been sharing recipes by request and has received a lot of good feedback.
"One request sort of opened the door for many requests for lots of different things," Phillips said.
The videos he makes don’t necessarily include easy recipes.
"I haven't really put myself into a box at this point…” Phillips said. “Certain kids may have some skills that they could use so I don't want to show them a simple omelet that they maybe already know how to do."
In the end, students like Jordyn Thompson say these videos serve more than the just the stomach.
“Even though it’s cooking videos,” Thompson said, “He’s reaching out to let us know like, ‘Hey look -- You can cook; you’ll make it through this, we’re all gonna make it through it.’”
Phillips said he’s been surprised at the number of people who have enjoyed watching his videos. And it’s not just students he’s reaching; other college staff and community members are enjoying them as well.