College Bon Appetit staff three weeks ago.
Kalli Dalrymple | Collegian
There’s a new executive chef in the cafeteria. Jasan Kramer, who has worked for Bon Appetit Management Company for two years, transitioned to his new position at Hillsdale College three weeks ago.
Kramer, who is originally from Oldenburg, a small town in southern Indiana, said the job offer came at the perfect time.
“I inherited a farmhouse in Reading,” Kramer said. “My wife and I got the house and it was a really nice happening that the job here came up and I got it.”
Although he didn’t originally intend to become a chef, Kramer said he has always enjoyed cooking with his family.
“When I was younger, I used to help my dad and mom in the kitchen,” Kramer said. “I feel like I’m pretty good at it so I just thought I should go with it.”
According to Kramer, his love for cooking blossomed in his twenties, after he had experimented in various other industries.
“I was a pre-med major at Marian University in Indianapolis,” Kramer said. “I actually went for two years and then I came out of there and got a certificate in massage therapy and practiced that for a little bit. I really got into cooking more when I was around 20 years old.”
Kramer said he began his cooking journey at the bottom and slowly worked his way to the top.
“I had a couple jobs as a line cook, then I was a sous chef under an executive chef for about seven years, and then I transitioned into executive chef roles,” Kramer said.
The flexibility his job provides is one of the reasons he loves being executive chef, Kramer said. Bon Appetit doesn’t have a corporate menu, so each week’s meal ideas are decided by Kramer and his sous chefs.
“I get to go through my recipes and my cookbooks and everything I can find and go ahead and create the menu for all the students,” Kramer said. “I like the fact that they give you the ability to be creative and bring in a lot of local ingredients just so I can bring the best product to the table that I can. That’s what we strive for — to bring out the best food possible with the best ingredients we can get.”
One of Kramer’s sous chefs, Daniel Fuentes, has been working for Bon Appetit for nearly eight years. Fuentes said he is excited to be working with Kramer and that he appreciates his fresh perspective.
“I’m excited about Jasan,” Fuentes said. “Jasan is younger compared to a lot of the chefs I’ve worked with. He’s trying to get back into what Bon Appetit is, which has been a struggle because I didn’t really have the support that I needed until Jasan got here. He’s very energetic and extremely willing to do anything for the students. I’m really excited to work with him.”
Kramer said some of his goals for the semester are to offer more variety and interact more often with students.
“I’d like to get more engaged and try to get more pop-ups going so we can get ourselves out there and get involved with students a little bit more,” Kramer said.
According to Fuentes, Kramer has already improved cooking operations in his first three weeks on the job.
“It was tough the first semester to deal with all the COVID-19 regulations and things like that, but he’s got better ways to deal with it,” Fuentes said. “We’re trying to put a lot of the things that the students are missing back in place and add extra things on top of that. So I think he’s going to be great for this college. He already loves the students here.”
David Apthorpe, Bon Appetit’s general manager, said he supports Jasan’s goals for the dining hall.
“We are fortunate to have Jasan on board. He has strong ties to the area, familiarity with how a best-in-class college dining service is run, and is interested in putting a very personal imprint on the food we serve,” Apthorpe said. “I look forward to the direction he takes.”
