112 - Trish Clinton, Private Chef, Zeta Psi Fraternity, University of Virginia. How is cooking for a frat house like being a mom?

Welcome to Episode 112 of Edacious and a conversation about success. How that doesn’t necessarily mean having your own show or managing a bunch of line cooks. Meet Chef Trish Clinton, chef for Zeta Psi fraternity at the University of Virginia. Yes, it’s a thing. Yes, I had questions. And yes, she manages a team but instead of checking mise en place, she’s guiding her group of 45 young men into being better, self-actualized individuals, using food as a starting point.

“I’ve done tweezer food. I didn’t get the reward that I get from this.”

I met Trish at one of the first Charlottesville Women in Food gatherings and was eager to find out what a typical day is like for a chef in charge of feeding 45 hungry young men every single day on a tight budget. How she has to make do, get creative, work with what she has in front of her. Make magic.

Being a single mom, she uses a lot of the same skills. Her menus are planned to the penny. Just like a Mom with 45 kids needs to do. Trish is a self-taught chef who started her cooking career at the esteemed Blackberry Farm in Tennessee. Yes, you heard right. THAT Blackberry Farm. The story of how she went from baking dog treats in her kitchen to that multiple-award-winning-no-pressure restaurant is inspiring and a testament to her positive attitude.

What’s it like to cook for a large group of people as opposed to being in a restaurant? Like catering but not. The math is different. The menu planning too. Trish does it all. Menu planning, budgeting, stocking, cooking. No sick days because if she doesn’t make the food, those boys don’t eat.

“You are everything. You’re the dishwasher. You’re doing the inventory. It’s like running a small restaurant where you feed 90 people a day.”

Food waste is a constant concern, something she uses as an example to teach Zeta Psi, who often have eyes bigger than their stomachs. Come-to-Jesus moments about the value of a food dollar happen on the regular. Trish is a Mom Away From Home, teaching Zeta Psi about food, laundry, even running a dishwasher because as part of her contract, the boys are responsible for cleanup. Every Fall there’s a new crop of boys who eat her out of house and home and need to be told where the “ON” button is.

“I received a note from one of the parents that said, ‘You are the best Rent-A-Mom ever.’”

And this ain’t fish sticks. How about roasted pork tacos with sherry pickled red onions, jalapenos, and a jalapeno cream sauce? Trish is teaching Zeta Psi not just food, but cuisine.

“I specialize in Dude Food and stuff you’d want your Mom to make.”

How has being a frat house chef made her a better mom? What about #MeToo? I’ll admit when I first heard what she did all I could picture was Animal House. We talk about this perception at length, and Trish’s answers are both surprising and incredibly enlightening. Bottom line? Those boys are in good hands. This week, Chef Clinton will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for her boys, complete with stuffing, and pumpkin and pecan pies. We should all be so lucky. Thanks, Rent-a-Mom! May your Thanksgiving be as filled with delicious as theirs is going to be. Be well. Big Love.

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