A new year and new semester have brought new beginnings in many aspects of campus life. As students have  been adjusting to new classes, professors and peers, they may have noticed another new face on campus in the past month. Mabee has welcomed a new head chef who will be serving up fresh new ingredients and continue efforts to make the dining hall environmentally friendly.

“I like Trinity because it’s super small, close to home, quiet, students are extremely respectful, and I am ultimately happy to be a part of this team,” said Trinity head chef Miguel Morales.

Growing up in Austin, Texas and originally hailing from Mexico City, Morales has a very extensive background in traveling across countries and providing the best possible meals to college students around the world. From working in Maryland colleges to eventually making it back to Texas and working in Houston at the University of Texas at Austin, Morales has now made his way to Trinity University and says that he plans to stay here for as long as possible.

Having worked at multiple establishments, Morales has said that one of the reasons that he chose to apply and accept the job at Trinity was because of the immediate atmosphere he felt upon arrival. Morales found Trinity to be homey, the students both kind and respectful of Mabee cafeteria workers and ultimately he believes that Trinity is his newfound home.

“I have worked in schools where I have had to serve over 40,000 thousand students or more, and I found them to be extremely rude to cafeteria workers and dismissive of all of the time and effort that the workers put into providing meals for them. Having experienced this, It was a difference to see how Trinity students are both receptive and kind to the Mabee employee workers. I am super happy to be part of this team,” said Morales.

When asked about his future plans and what he hopes to accomplish as the new head chef on campus, he said that he wants to keep going with the active recycling programs that are available on campus. Mabee is a huge advocate for this program, from the recycling of plastic containers, fruit peelings and anything that could be of potential future use.

Morales also plans to buy all of the produce from the upcoming Trinity Garden that will soon be introduced to the campus and stressed that it was both crucial and of importance for him to support Trinity students in their endeavors and provide the freshest ingredients for students on campus. Morales appreciates the fact that Trinity is very vocal about preserving the environment and using the most sustainable methods possible and would not trade the opportunity to be a part of something like this for anything else.

As the new head chef in town, Morales is ready to provide students with the best eating experience possible and hopes that he can integrate himself within the student body and seek to create new ways for students to experience eating at Mabee Dining Hall.