For 15 years, chef Jason Reynolds has been making his mark in the culinary world. A Muncie native, he returned home in 1998 to become a chef at Ball State University and serve up exceptional food to college students.
Today, Reynolds primarily works at the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Tally. He has also worked at LaFollette Complex and in the Atrium Food Court.
Reynolds became interested in cooking back in the seventh grade.
"My grandmother and my mom, we had a whole family of good cooks," he said.
His mother and grandmother both cooked in the grade school cafeteria.
"That was when they did everything from scratch, and I got interested," he said.
From middle school to high school, Reynolds took home economics courses. He attended Vincennes University and graduated in 1994 with an associate's degree in culinary arts.
His first job was at the Radisson Hotel in Indianapolis. After three years, Reynolds made his way to Woodland Country Club in Carmel, Ind.
He heard about a cooking competition at Ball State and knew they were looking for new chefs.
"I applied, came up for the competition and won it," Reynolds said. "From there, I kind of got my foot in the door and I've been here for 11 years."
When he was a college student, Reynolds had the same bad habits as the rest of us.
"They only had one dining hall on campus at Vincennes University, and it was basically home style. They had a salad bar section and a deli where you could get sandwiches," he said. "I was off and on. You always have to have something different. If you don't want a hot meal, you get a deli sandwich or a salad and try to be healthy. But then there's the home style ... I gained a lot of weight."
The majority of the cooking Reynolds did was in the classroom, but, from time to time, he cooked basic things in his residence hall kitchen.
"I was an RA my second year, so they called upon me a couple of times to do some stuff," he said.
For those who want to eat healthily on Ball State's campus, there are a variety of options available.
"You can do different types of salads. Don't put all the vegetables on at one time; do a couple different kinds of vegetables one day with a nice healthy dressing, and then do one with just dried fruits and nuts the next," Reynolds said.
He also recommends some of the chef station entrées offered and mentioned that exclusions or substitutions can be done at the made-to-order dining areas.
"You gotta be creative," he added.
If students prefer to cook their own food, be it in the residence halls or an apartment, Reynolds recommends using the Internet as a major resource.
"I go online and just Google a bunch of my ideas," he said. "The Internet's good for that type of thing, just getting your flavors and stuff like that together. It's good to adventure out and see what types of things do go good together."
Students can also utilize cooking magazines for inspiration. Reynolds said they are his favorite because you can just tear out the recipe and use it. Watching cooking shows is also a great way to improve your culinary skills. Bookstores and libraries have numerous resources students can use — namely specialty cookbooks and cooking tip books.
Each week at the Tally, Reynolds creates his entrées using all of these resources. Mondays are pasta, Tuesdays and Thursdays are entrée day, Wednesday is stir-fry and Fridays are reserved for specialty pizzas.
"I use a lot of the ingredients that I use through the week and create pizzas. Instead of having some duck left over, some salmon left over, I'm using it to make pizzas. It's a little bit of this, little bit of that left over in the freezer or cooler."
In addition to his job at Ball State, Reynolds runs his own catering business: Heavenly Creations Catering.
A number of services are offered, including cake cutting and linens. The catering menu includes everything from chicken Florentine and marinated pork loin to oven-ready meals like pot roast and lasagna.
As a member, and former president, of the American Culinary Federation, Reynolds also performed cooking demonstrations at the Minnetrista Farmer's Market.
As if he didn't already have a full plate, Reynolds also teaches classes at Ivy Tech Community College. On Tuesday nights, he teaches classical pastries and chocolate.
"We do the gingerbread display at Minnetrista the first weekend of December," he explained. "They have a luminaria, and it kicks off the holiday season. Last year's theme was holiday tradition, and this year it's called 1968."
In the spring, he instructs meat fabrication, which covers different cuts of meat and how to use them.
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