Spotlights
Humans of St. Norbert: Josh Swanson
Staff
Humans of St. Norbert: Josh Swanson
Humans of St. Norbert:
“I grew up here and love the area. When I was 14, I needed a job and a family friend was demolishing the interior of a jewelry store. When it was renovated into a restaurant, I got a job as a dishwasher. I started cooking, I learned all the different areas like prep cooking, fry cooking, grill, sauté station and all of that stuff. I really enjoyed it, and from there, I worked at a couple of different restaurants and eventually it settled in that this would be a career.
“At that point, I made a move working at a really popular family restaurant on the east side [of Green Bay] and then to a country club on the west side. The chef that was there was pushing the boundaries of cuisine a little bit and I wanted to learn. I consulted him and he advised me to just work on my craft. I took his advice and bought a culinary textbook, obtained the sous chef position at the country club and just cooked through that textbook. I made all of the weekly, daily and nightly specials. I made all of the pizza dough, all of the desserts there, all of the dressings. Anything that I could do! I was very fortunate and there were a lot of good chefs and teachers along the way.
“Before [SNC], I was with Delaware North at Lambeau Field and was responsible for daily operations of 1919 for the past six years. They do a lot more volume than other restaurants around here. On a training camp day in the middle of August, we would open the doors and the restaurant would fill up 240 seats and we would be on a wait for the rest of the day until 9 to 9:30 at night. So we would serve about 1,400 meals, all made to order.
“Here at St. Norbert, it’s a great deal different. We have a little bit of a different culture here than normal food service. It affords a better work/life quality. That is one of the reasons I made the switch here. I never worked with an employer where they talk about community and how to integrate into the community. And to be grateful, respectful and thoughtful. We embody that in the cafeteria so we have vegan options and vegetarian options. I’m very happy to be here!” – Josh Swanson, campus executive chef
“I grew up here and love the area. When I was 14, I needed a job and a family friend was demolishing the interior of a jewelry store. When it was renovated into a restaurant, I got a job as a dishwasher. I started cooking, I learned all the different areas like prep cooking, fry cooking, grill, sauté station and all of that stuff. I really enjoyed it, and from there, I worked at a couple of different restaurants and eventually it settled in that this would be a career.
“At that point, I made a move working at a really popular family restaurant on the east side [of Green Bay] and then to a country club on the west side. The chef that was there was pushing the boundaries of cuisine a little bit and I wanted to learn. I consulted him and he advised me to just work on my craft. I took his advice and bought a culinary textbook, obtained the sous chef position at the country club and just cooked through that textbook. I made all of the weekly, daily and nightly specials. I made all of the pizza dough, all of the desserts there, all of the dressings. Anything that I could do! I was very fortunate and there were a lot of good chefs and teachers along the way.
“Before [SNC], I was with Delaware North at Lambeau Field and was responsible for daily operations of 1919 for the past six years. They do a lot more volume than other restaurants around here. On a training camp day in the middle of August, we would open the doors and the restaurant would fill up 240 seats and we would be on a wait for the rest of the day until 9 to 9:30 at night. So we would serve about 1,400 meals, all made to order.
“Here at St. Norbert, it’s a great deal different. We have a little bit of a different culture here than normal food service. It affords a better work/life quality. That is one of the reasons I made the switch here. I never worked with an employer where they talk about community and how to integrate into the community. And to be grateful, respectful and thoughtful. We embody that in the cafeteria so we have vegan options and vegetarian options. I’m very happy to be here!” – Josh Swanson, campus executive chef