November 27, 2025 • 22 mins
In the kitchen for a Sorority Thanksgiving!
Get the inside secrets from a chef who knows ALL about what’s happening in the kitchen!
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Dirty Rush, The Truth about Sorority Life with
your hosts me Gia Judice, Davey Kent, and Jennifer Kessler.
Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode of Dirty Rush
and Happy Thanksgiving. So in honor of Thanksgiving, we are
(00:21):
going to be talking to a chef, not just any chef,
looking to Kevin Ashton, who is the house chef for
Pi Beta Pi sorority at the University of Nevada. So,
Kevin has an unbelievable following. Some of you may know him.
I think he has like five million followers on TikTok.
He is a wonder and we're going to find out everything.
(00:44):
We have a ton of questions for him. So let's
bring in Kevin.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Hello, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I am very interested in all things Kevin Ashton and
what you do and why you do it and how
you do it.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So cool.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Let's just if you wouldn't mind just tell me a
little bit about how this happened. You are, well, there's
a lot to ask about. I mean, you have this
unbelievable following on TikTok, of course, but what made you
decide to want to be a chef for a sorority
that is.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
You know, there's such a long story behind that, but
it basically boils down to I've been in the restaurant
business my whole life. I've been food has been has
Food has been my life since I was a little kid.
So I went to culinary school in nineteen ninety one
and I began my professional career after that, and I
(01:39):
was a chef for thirty years. And when the pandemic hit,
all the restaurants got shut down, and so all the
chefs got to take a break for the first time
in their lives and for me, and after thirty years
in the kitchens, it's the first time I had a
couple months off, and I decided I really liked it.
So I retired from the restaurant business and I started
(02:01):
shooting tiktoks and I did that for a little while,
and then one of the alums reached out to me.
She knew I wasn't doing anything besides shooting videos, and
she said, hey, we have this position our chef. You know,
we lost our chef. Would you be interested in just
coming down and talking to us about about the job.
And it just like everything about the job just lined
(02:21):
up perfect. I got to take you mean, I got
I got to take summers off. I get the nights
and weekends off, I get like all these I got
a lot of time off. Essentially, That's what it boiled
down to. And that's what the hard part about the
restaurant business is is you uh, you know, if you
if you really want to commit to that business, you
you're working nights and weekends and holidays and you pore
(02:45):
your life into it. And I raised I raised four
daughters and you know, it's very few of their performances
at soccer games and events. And because my life was
committed to the restaurants, so I it was like it
was great to uh to have the opportunity to still
cook in a kitchen. But not but at the seem
(03:06):
I have all the time off. You know, I'm home
every evening now, I'm on the weekends, I'm home on
all the holidays. So and I take it a long
break over the summer. So it's it's just perfect for me.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Wow, did it?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Kurk?
Speaker 1 (03:19):
This was an opportunity in terms of your social media
career because I've not met somebody who does what you
do and who is not just works. You know, in
that house, but your professional chef. How lucky are these
are these girls? And I'm sure it comes with so
many challenges? Was that part of why you accepted the job,
like this is going to be really interesting to people?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
It was they told me, I could you know? They
they essentially handed me over the whole kitchen. They said,
you can cook whatever you want. You write the menu,
you do the shopping, you cook the food, you wash
your own dishes. It's basically I'm a one man show.
And so I didn't have to worry about employees. I
didn't have to worry. I just like you know, every
(04:01):
every every weekend, I think about the menu for the
upcoming week, and I write it out and I send
it to the girls and they all reply with what
they want or don't want. We have alternative options if
they don't like something.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
There has to be You have them there asking people
to do this with you. How many girls are there?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
I do it all alone. There's twenty twenty five girls
plus one house mom. So I cooked for like twenty
I cook her twenty six meals lunch and dinner.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And yeah, I do you get your still have your home?
Your home at night? I'm surprised to hear that sounds
like the most work ever.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah. No, they eat dinner at five o'clock, so I'm
usually done by six and home by six thirty. And
that's a that's unheard of in the restaurant business. There
is one girl that works in house and she does
the dishes in the evening, and it's kind of like
a part time job for her, so she doesn't even
have to go out and get another job. This is
(04:55):
they pay her to do the dishes, and they they've
been doing that for a couple of years. For me,
when I started out, I did my own dishes and
I clean up along. As you know, throughout the day.
As I go, I clean up. But at the end
of the night, they'll go through and they'll take care
of the last of the dishes that the girls.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Everything having to deal with. First of all, girls that age.
You have four daughters, so that must have come pretty naturally.
But I just cannot imagine cooking and girls correct me
if I'm wrong. At while they're in college, they're very particular.
They got a lot going on up here about what
to eat and what not to eat. I would think
that your job would be so challenging.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
It's you know, it's it is, but I like, like
I said, food has been my life's passion. So and
having raised girls, I understand how they think. And and
my daughters are the same ages they're they're in their
early twenties, so there, it's it's the same. It's like
I understand that they like to eat healthy, but at
(05:56):
the same time, they like to have cheap days. You know,
they like a nice Greek yogurt bowl, but they also
like cheeseburger and fries. And so there's a balance that
I that I have to do when I write them.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Babe, do you have to be conscious of all the
dietary restrictions every meal? So like I can't write so
you're cooking multiple I would think options each meal.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Well, I create a I create a menu, and then
we do have we do have some dietary restrictions and
every semester or every year, we've had some and I
adhere to those wholeheartedly. And I do my best to Like,
if they're gluten free and I'm doing it at pasta night,
I'll just get some gluten free pasta. That way, the
girls kind of feel like they're eating the same thing.
I don't just make them a salad because everyone else
(06:40):
is having, you know, pasta with gluten in it. I
try to make them feel like they're part of the
same meal. And it's tough. Sometimes we have depending what
the allergies are. I've had everything from shellfish allergies, soybean allergies,
nut allergies. There's just so there's different guidelines. I followed them.
I really do my best to. Of course, I don't
(07:02):
give them any you know, any allergies that completely adhere
to those, and and just I use just substitute items.
If it comes down to, you know, we have some
girls who are dairy free and gluten free, and if
I'm doing like fanaccini alfredo that's pretty much all dairy
and gluten, then I'll say, you know, let's let's pick something.
I have a whole list of alternative meals that they
can choose from, so they're never gonna They're never gonna
(07:25):
go hungry. If they can't eat what I'm actually making,
or if they don't like what I'm making, they simply say,
you know, I don't want the feteccini alfredo, I want
a burger to back, or I want a chicken Caesar tonight, I.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Say it to you. So now they're down for dinner
at five o'clock. Someone tastes something you've made and they
don't like it, will you then prepare them something else?
Or like my mother, will you say, well I made it,
you're eating it or you're going hungry?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah. No, Generally that that doesn't happen because they sign
up ahead of time. They sign up for the whole week,
so they see what's on the menu, and they know
if they don't like something coming up, then they choose
for that particular day an alternative meal. So at the
beginning of the day, I know what everybody's going to have,
and I've never I've never had somebody come up and say, hey,
I don't like this. If they did, I'd make them
(08:10):
something different. Though I always have lots of food on hands,
so I could I could do a quick burger or.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
A Q So even tempered, and it's just from the
very short amount of time that we're speaking, and I
think that's probably so conducive to what you do. I mean,
I think you would have to be even tempered. Is
there anything hard though about what you do? These girls,
their personalities it's you make it sound very easy.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
You know what. For for me, I feel like it is.
The girls are inspirational. They are they they're so kind
and they do so many kind things throughout throughout the year,
and I just watch them and they inspire me to
to be on my best behavior. And you know, I
just I'm kind nature as it is, so it's easier
(08:58):
to get along with them. In four years, I've never
had a single argument with any of the girls. Just like,
if they don't like something, I say, hey, no problem,
let's let's do so let's fix it. And you know,
sometimes they'll come up and say, you know, I want
this meal, but I don't want that particular part of it,
so we'll leave it off for them.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I mean, I've never had an argument with any of
these girls. There's never been trouble of any kind. You
are an amazing man. No, No, I just have to
tell you that's I find that fascinating. I can't imagine
being with that age group of girls every day lunch
and dinner and speaking so highly of them and kindly
of them. I think I would go crazy, maybe because
(09:38):
I also have a twenty three year old duster.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So yeah, it's funny. It's I see it like these
these girls have a they like I say, they're very
busy through throughout the year. They're always doing a lot
of philanthropy. They're always giving back to the community. And
when they're not doing that, they're studying and they're going
to classes, and they work so hard. And to actually
take a break from all of that and just sit
(10:02):
down and enjoy a meal, that's sometimes they're only downtime
in the whole day. And oftentimes if they if they're
a long ways from home, which a lot of them are,
then that's kind of like that one time when they
can kind of get that feel and they have a
comfortable meal and the last thing they need is some
sort of negative vibe going coming out of the kitchen.
(10:23):
When makes them not you know, that's the one peaceful
moment they have in the day. I want to make
it just perfect for them.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I love that. It's lovely and I shouldn't say this.
I was about to say, you make me want to
become a chef. I absolutely do not want to ever, ever, ever,
ever do that. But I'm a little bit in awe
of you, my friend. What do you put on social media?
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Well, I just film. I film what I do for
them every day. So I just film what I did
social media for a couple of years. So going into
the job, I had a I had a small following,
and it of course they grew over the years. And
I think that's just because of the the the mystery
of a sorority house. Nobody really ever gets to see
(11:04):
inside a sorority house and know what goes on. They
all have ideas of what goes on in there, but
really I didn't even know what it was like going in.
And it's it's so different than than what you like.
I say. These girls work hard, they raise money for
the community, they're all going to school. They just it's
and and so it's a it's an aspiring place to work,
(11:25):
it really is. So my videos are just like what
I do on a daily basis cool.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I don't know that. I wonder if the chefs feel
the same way, because I think you probably know this
the poor girls, but sororities, you know, they're they come
in all different shapes and sizes, right, But it sounds
like you're maybe in a house of girls that are
more studious, and so there's a lot of mischief going on.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I don't. I don't want to say they don't. They're not.
They're not typical college students because they are and it
is a it is a dry house, so of course
there's no alcohol allout in the house. But a lot
of girls, they are over twenty one, and they're welcome
to go out anytime they want and go to the
bars or go party, and they do that and every
now and then I'll see them on Friday morning because
(12:10):
most of them don't have class Friday morning. That's the
one morning I do brunch. The rest of the week,
they kind of do their own breakfast.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
It's like on Friday mornings, I'd.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Mix it up. I've done everything from like eggs benedict
to like a nice Greek yogurt bowls. I've done chicken
fried steak, and I like last Friday, I did pumpkin
pancakes for them. So I just I make it different
every week I do it. I like to incorporate a
lot of different fresh berries and fresh fruit, depending what
we're doing.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Do they have a favorite? Is there something that the
girls just love when you may you have a specialty.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Lunch or dinner dinner wise, they like the case Saberia
tacos that's their It's it's a it's like a stewed
meat that's stewed all day long and then it goes
in these tacos and you kind of dip it in
this uh in this consumme. So it's like a taco,
it's dip in a weird sort of way, and they're
just absolutely delicious. And the girls that's that's their all
(13:05):
time favorite. They that's my most requested meal. And it
takes a lot of work. Yeah, the uh So, I
have a little I have a little suggestion box so
they can put suggestions in it and I take those
and incorporate those into the menus that I write every week.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Is there been ever like a wild suggestion any of
like anything?
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Was just uh, There's just sometimes there's things I can't
do only because I am by myself. They'll like, don't
They'll want certain types of pizzas or something, and I
can't really do pizza for like individual I can't do
twenty five individual pizzas. It's just too hard. And so
so there's there's certain things that I that are just
(13:46):
a little beyond beyond my byreach. But as a chef,
I understand that, and so I just don't put it
on the menu. I know what my capabilities are, and
I try to I try to stretch those limits a
little bit sometimes, but I I definitely never get myself
in deep water to where where you know, because they
have to they eat, they sign up to eat at
a certain time five or five fifteen or five point thirty.
(14:09):
And I know a lot of them have classes. So
I don't want to. I don't want to be so
behind that they're you know, they have to leave and
don't get food because they have to go to class,
or they're going to be late to class because I'm behind.
So I again, it's just that balance of like, you know,
not overstepping my balance and knowing knowing what my limitations are.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Have you had, you know, reformed relationships with some of
these girls a dad or a brother. Are there something
that you keep in touch with it are no longer
living in the house.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Well, I don't keep in touch with any of them,
but I have run into some of them locally, and
it's always like, hey, how you doing. You know, long
time no see And it's just like it's really great
to see them because I do I do friends form
friendships with them. It's it's kind of like like your
work family, Like they just live in the house. I'm
(15:12):
just the chef. But to me, these are the girls
I see every single day when I go to work,
So they're like my work family. And I talk to
them and I, you know, I quick, Hey, how you doing.
Oh I'm a little stressed. I got a test today.
Oh what class are you in? And we just have
little conversations and and so I I learn about them,
where they're from, when where they're going home for the
(15:33):
holidays and uh so, so it is nice to uh
to form these friendships with them, But yeah, I don't.
I don't really keep in touch with any of them.
But it's always great to see them outside of the house.
Even if I'm just at the grocery store on a
Saturday and I run into a couple of them. You know,
it's it's it's not awkward, it's it's very friendly and warm.
(15:53):
It's a it's just a warm how you doing, And
it's really nice.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
It's awesome. These girls, These are very lucky girls. I
hope they know how lucky they are.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
People say that I always feel like I'm the lucky one.
You know, it's it's it's the best job in the world.
It really is. Wow.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
I I love hearing that. I haven't heard anyone say
that in a very long time.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, it's a I'm blessed. I am.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
I want to follow you now on TikTok. Where do
we find you?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Old school Chemo across the board TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, old
school it's old old DS cool, c O L Kemo.
I always say that because old.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Cool, old is cool. And what about keV Mo?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So Kemo's just what my friends always used to call
me when I was when I was like starting in
high school, they always called me Kevmo instead of Kevin Kevin.
So it became old old school Chemo, all right, And
it just it just kind of stuck. And I wasn't
even sure when I had to pick a user name.
It's just when I threw out there and then my
accounts kind of blew up.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
I mean they really have, Like, am I right? Do
you have like five million followers something?
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I do? On on I have like eight On TikTok,
I have like five and a half million followers. I
have about eight million followers across the board total, and
it's just been.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
A eight million followers. I mean, what do you think
that is?
Speaker 2 (17:14):
What?
Speaker 1 (17:14):
I mean? Yes, I think people want to see what
goes on I guess in a sorority house, but can't
be it. I mean, is it what you're cooking? Is
it your personality that people just find very charming and calming?
What is it that is drawing all of these people
to you?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I think I think a lot of it. People tell
me it's my voice. They say they could listen to me,
you know, read the phone book. I always used to
try to sing when I was younger, and I was
terrible at singing because I can't carry a tune. But
I guess just speaking, I never you know, I just
assumed even speaking it was because I had a bad voice.
(17:50):
But when I started doing my videos, they say, I
love your voice. I love your voice. And I always, like,
was told you're a terrible singer. You're a terrible singer.
So it's like it was really hard for me to
to make make that connection of like it's okay to
be a bad thing of but maybe I do have
a good speaking voice. Yes, so that's what people tell me.
Maybe that's part of it. I really do put a
lot of it on the fact that people are curious
(18:13):
what goes on in the sorority house, and they don't
see anything that goes on in the house. They see
the kitchen and that's all. I don't show any parts
of the house. Come on, no, I try to keep
them out of the videos as much as I can.
You might just catch the back of one of them
their head as they walk by, like in the background,
But I try to try to keep their privacy to themselves,
try to make it about them, but more about me
(18:34):
and the food I'm serving.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
I feel like you would be watching watching would be
like watching what is the guy's name, Bob Green, the painter,
Bob Roster, Bob Rost. Yes, I feel like it would
be like that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
People have compared me to him as the Bob Ross
of cooking, so I do too, And I don't mind that.
You know, he had a he had a very cool.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Vibe, spromizing way about him.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Yeah, and I and I do the same thing with
you know, a little bit of salt here and just
a little bit of garlic over there and whatever. So
it's it's I suppose I.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Love that, very grateful that you can't talk to us.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Yeah, me too, this is this is cool. I love
sharing my story. I love telling everybody about it, just
because it is. I think it's a unique situation. And
it's a like before I before the pandemic, and actually
before I got the phone call about coming in and
interviewing for the job, I never knew a job like
this existed. I don't know what I thought, what I
(19:32):
thought they did. I didn't know that sorority houses and
the fraternities as well have chefs. And I didn't realize
this I did.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
I mean, I lived in one, but I wouldn't. I
just I don't know. I didn't really register, you know,
like who was cooking.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Yeah, up at the campus, there's different food outlets, and
I know there's chefs there, and I maybe just assume
that's where all the food came from. I didn't think
of it, being like the house I work in is
not regulated by by the city. It's it's not a restaurant.
It's a private it's a private home. So essentially I'm
a private chef just working at this home, cooking for
(20:10):
these girls. And it's just it's just really really neat.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
It's uh, I remember we had a couple of I
thought of them as cooks more than chefs. I don't
remember them being as invested and with as much experience.
I think these girls, again, are very lucky.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, it's it's funny because I've I've cooked in I
live in Reno, and I've cooked in this town as
a chef for thirty years. And I've met a lot
of chefs, and I have a lot of really close
friends that have been in the industry for so long,
and they all tell me, Man, how did you get
that job? Like that's a dream job And I never
really thought about it. But a lot of my chefs,
(20:48):
who are very high up, working in the casinos, working
in you know, very successful restaurants, they want to leave
those jobs and like get themselves a sorority house job
or a fret house job. You know, they want to
they want to take it easy on the weekends, they
want to take the summers off, and they want to
they want to get out of that. It's a grind
working in the industry. It's a tough shot to be
(21:10):
and you know, as for cooks, dishwashers, servers, the whole industry,
it's a it's a hard business. To be in. So
I feel like I got lucky and I can still
cook and I can still share my passion, but I
don't have to deal with the whole restaurant industry anymore.
So it makes me feel good. It's not it's it's
my heart goes out to everybody still doing it. It's
(21:30):
a tough business and it's like where I spent my career.
So I I love all the people in it, and
I really try to treat them all well and take
care of them. But on the other hand, I'm like, oh,
look at me now. You know. It's like you guys
might be a.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Yeah, I started something here, you're starting. Who knows there's
going to be a new wave of Greek house chefs.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
It's so cool, I think. So I think people are
seeing that it's a it's a pretty cool gig, and
I just, you know, I was a little I was
a little curious when I took the job, how other
people were gonna look at me as a chef, you know,
working in a sorority house. And it didn't. It didn't.
Not that I have a great reputation, but it didn't
(22:16):
take my reputation at all. They all just absolutely followers.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I'm feeling like people like looking at you, so I
think I suppose all right, keV Moo, well, thank you
so much for joining us. Absolutely really cool, so interesting.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
We appreciate
Welcome to Dirty Rush, The Truth about Sorority Life with
your hosts me Gia Judice, Davey Kent, and Jennifer Kessler.
Hi everyone, welcome back to another episode of Dirty Rush
and Happy Thanksgiving. So in honor of Thanksgiving, we are
(00:21):
going to be talking to a chef, not just any chef,
looking to Kevin Ashton, who is the house chef for
Pi Beta Pi sorority at the University of Nevada. So,
Kevin has an unbelievable following. Some of you may know him.
I think he has like five million followers on TikTok.
He is a wonder and we're going to find out everything.
(00:44):
We have a ton of questions for him. So let's
bring in Kevin.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Hello, thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
I am very interested in all things Kevin Ashton and
what you do and why you do it and how
you do it.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So cool.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Let's just if you wouldn't mind just tell me a
little bit about how this happened. You are, well, there's
a lot to ask about. I mean, you have this
unbelievable following on TikTok, of course, but what made you
decide to want to be a chef for a sorority
that is.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
You know, there's such a long story behind that, but
it basically boils down to I've been in the restaurant
business my whole life. I've been food has been has
Food has been my life since I was a little kid.
So I went to culinary school in nineteen ninety one
and I began my professional career after that, and I
(01:39):
was a chef for thirty years. And when the pandemic hit,
all the restaurants got shut down, and so all the
chefs got to take a break for the first time
in their lives and for me, and after thirty years
in the kitchens, it's the first time I had a
couple months off, and I decided I really liked it.
So I retired from the restaurant business and I started
(02:01):
shooting tiktoks and I did that for a little while,
and then one of the alums reached out to me.
She knew I wasn't doing anything besides shooting videos, and
she said, hey, we have this position our chef. You know,
we lost our chef. Would you be interested in just
coming down and talking to us about about the job.
And it just like everything about the job just lined
(02:21):
up perfect. I got to take you mean, I got
I got to take summers off. I get the nights
and weekends off, I get like all these I got
a lot of time off. Essentially, That's what it boiled
down to. And that's what the hard part about the
restaurant business is is you uh, you know, if you
if you really want to commit to that business, you
you're working nights and weekends and holidays and you pore
(02:45):
your life into it. And I raised I raised four
daughters and you know, it's very few of their performances
at soccer games and events. And because my life was
committed to the restaurants, so I it was like it
was great to uh to have the opportunity to still
cook in a kitchen. But not but at the seem
(03:06):
I have all the time off. You know, I'm home
every evening now, I'm on the weekends, I'm home on
all the holidays. So and I take it a long
break over the summer. So it's it's just perfect for me.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Wow, did it?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Kurk?
Speaker 1 (03:19):
This was an opportunity in terms of your social media
career because I've not met somebody who does what you
do and who is not just works. You know, in
that house, but your professional chef. How lucky are these
are these girls? And I'm sure it comes with so
many challenges? Was that part of why you accepted the job,
like this is going to be really interesting to people?
Speaker 2 (03:41):
It was they told me, I could you know? They
they essentially handed me over the whole kitchen. They said,
you can cook whatever you want. You write the menu,
you do the shopping, you cook the food, you wash
your own dishes. It's basically I'm a one man show.
And so I didn't have to worry about employees. I
didn't have to worry. I just like you know, every
(04:01):
every every weekend, I think about the menu for the
upcoming week, and I write it out and I send
it to the girls and they all reply with what
they want or don't want. We have alternative options if
they don't like something.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
There has to be You have them there asking people
to do this with you. How many girls are there?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
I do it all alone. There's twenty twenty five girls
plus one house mom. So I cooked for like twenty
I cook her twenty six meals lunch and dinner.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And yeah, I do you get your still have your home?
Your home at night? I'm surprised to hear that sounds
like the most work ever.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah. No, they eat dinner at five o'clock, so I'm
usually done by six and home by six thirty. And
that's a that's unheard of in the restaurant business. There
is one girl that works in house and she does
the dishes in the evening, and it's kind of like
a part time job for her, so she doesn't even
have to go out and get another job. This is
(04:55):
they pay her to do the dishes, and they they've
been doing that for a couple of years. For me,
when I started out, I did my own dishes and
I clean up along. As you know, throughout the day.
As I go, I clean up. But at the end
of the night, they'll go through and they'll take care
of the last of the dishes that the girls.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Everything having to deal with. First of all, girls that age.
You have four daughters, so that must have come pretty naturally.
But I just cannot imagine cooking and girls correct me
if I'm wrong. At while they're in college, they're very particular.
They got a lot going on up here about what
to eat and what not to eat. I would think
that your job would be so challenging.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
It's you know, it's it is, but I like, like
I said, food has been my life's passion. So and
having raised girls, I understand how they think. And and
my daughters are the same ages they're they're in their
early twenties, so there, it's it's the same. It's like
I understand that they like to eat healthy, but at
(05:56):
the same time, they like to have cheap days. You know,
they like a nice Greek yogurt bowl, but they also
like cheeseburger and fries. And so there's a balance that
I that I have to do when I write them.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
Babe, do you have to be conscious of all the
dietary restrictions every meal? So like I can't write so
you're cooking multiple I would think options each meal.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
Well, I create a I create a menu, and then
we do have we do have some dietary restrictions and
every semester or every year, we've had some and I
adhere to those wholeheartedly. And I do my best to Like,
if they're gluten free and I'm doing it at pasta night,
I'll just get some gluten free pasta. That way, the
girls kind of feel like they're eating the same thing.
I don't just make them a salad because everyone else
(06:40):
is having, you know, pasta with gluten in it. I
try to make them feel like they're part of the
same meal. And it's tough. Sometimes we have depending what
the allergies are. I've had everything from shellfish allergies, soybean allergies,
nut allergies. There's just so there's different guidelines. I followed them.
I really do my best to. Of course, I don't
(07:02):
give them any you know, any allergies that completely adhere
to those, and and just I use just substitute items.
If it comes down to, you know, we have some
girls who are dairy free and gluten free, and if
I'm doing like fanaccini alfredo that's pretty much all dairy
and gluten, then I'll say, you know, let's let's pick something.
I have a whole list of alternative meals that they
can choose from, so they're never gonna They're never gonna
(07:25):
go hungry. If they can't eat what I'm actually making,
or if they don't like what I'm making, they simply say,
you know, I don't want the feteccini alfredo, I want
a burger to back, or I want a chicken Caesar tonight, I.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
Say it to you. So now they're down for dinner
at five o'clock. Someone tastes something you've made and they
don't like it, will you then prepare them something else?
Or like my mother, will you say, well I made it,
you're eating it or you're going hungry?
Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah. No, Generally that that doesn't happen because they sign
up ahead of time. They sign up for the whole week,
so they see what's on the menu, and they know
if they don't like something coming up, then they choose
for that particular day an alternative meal. So at the
beginning of the day, I know what everybody's going to have,
and I've never I've never had somebody come up and say, hey,
I don't like this. If they did, I'd make them
(08:10):
something different. Though I always have lots of food on hands,
so I could I could do a quick burger or.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
A Q So even tempered, and it's just from the
very short amount of time that we're speaking, and I
think that's probably so conducive to what you do. I mean,
I think you would have to be even tempered. Is
there anything hard though about what you do? These girls,
their personalities it's you make it sound very easy.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
You know what. For for me, I feel like it is.
The girls are inspirational. They are they they're so kind
and they do so many kind things throughout throughout the year,
and I just watch them and they inspire me to
to be on my best behavior. And you know, I
just I'm kind nature as it is, so it's easier
(08:58):
to get along with them. In four years, I've never
had a single argument with any of the girls. Just like,
if they don't like something, I say, hey, no problem,
let's let's do so let's fix it. And you know,
sometimes they'll come up and say, you know, I want
this meal, but I don't want that particular part of it,
so we'll leave it off for them.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I mean, I've never had an argument with any of
these girls. There's never been trouble of any kind. You
are an amazing man. No, No, I just have to
tell you that's I find that fascinating. I can't imagine
being with that age group of girls every day lunch
and dinner and speaking so highly of them and kindly
of them. I think I would go crazy, maybe because
(09:38):
I also have a twenty three year old duster.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
So yeah, it's funny. It's I see it like these
these girls have a they like I say, they're very
busy through throughout the year. They're always doing a lot
of philanthropy. They're always giving back to the community. And
when they're not doing that, they're studying and they're going
to classes, and they work so hard. And to actually
take a break from all of that and just sit
(10:02):
down and enjoy a meal, that's sometimes they're only downtime
in the whole day. And oftentimes if they if they're
a long ways from home, which a lot of them are,
then that's kind of like that one time when they
can kind of get that feel and they have a
comfortable meal and the last thing they need is some
sort of negative vibe going coming out of the kitchen.
(10:23):
When makes them not you know, that's the one peaceful
moment they have in the day. I want to make
it just perfect for them.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
I love that. It's lovely and I shouldn't say this.
I was about to say, you make me want to
become a chef. I absolutely do not want to ever, ever, ever,
ever do that. But I'm a little bit in awe
of you, my friend. What do you put on social media?
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Well, I just film. I film what I do for
them every day. So I just film what I did
social media for a couple of years. So going into
the job, I had a I had a small following,
and it of course they grew over the years. And
I think that's just because of the the the mystery
of a sorority house. Nobody really ever gets to see
(11:04):
inside a sorority house and know what goes on. They
all have ideas of what goes on in there, but
really I didn't even know what it was like going in.
And it's it's so different than than what you like.
I say. These girls work hard, they raise money for
the community, they're all going to school. They just it's
and and so it's a it's an aspiring place to work,
(11:25):
it really is. So my videos are just like what
I do on a daily basis cool.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
I don't know that. I wonder if the chefs feel
the same way, because I think you probably know this
the poor girls, but sororities, you know, they're they come
in all different shapes and sizes, right, But it sounds
like you're maybe in a house of girls that are
more studious, and so there's a lot of mischief going on.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
I don't. I don't want to say they don't. They're not.
They're not typical college students because they are and it
is a it is a dry house, so of course
there's no alcohol allout in the house. But a lot
of girls, they are over twenty one, and they're welcome
to go out anytime they want and go to the
bars or go party, and they do that and every
now and then I'll see them on Friday morning because
(12:10):
most of them don't have class Friday morning. That's the
one morning I do brunch. The rest of the week,
they kind of do their own breakfast.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
It's like on Friday mornings, I'd.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Mix it up. I've done everything from like eggs benedict
to like a nice Greek yogurt bowls. I've done chicken
fried steak, and I like last Friday, I did pumpkin
pancakes for them. So I just I make it different
every week I do it. I like to incorporate a
lot of different fresh berries and fresh fruit, depending what
we're doing.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Do they have a favorite? Is there something that the
girls just love when you may you have a specialty.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Lunch or dinner dinner wise, they like the case Saberia
tacos that's their It's it's a it's like a stewed
meat that's stewed all day long and then it goes
in these tacos and you kind of dip it in
this uh in this consumme. So it's like a taco,
it's dip in a weird sort of way, and they're
just absolutely delicious. And the girls that's that's their all
(13:05):
time favorite. They that's my most requested meal. And it
takes a lot of work. Yeah, the uh So, I
have a little I have a little suggestion box so
they can put suggestions in it and I take those
and incorporate those into the menus that I write every week.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Is there been ever like a wild suggestion any of
like anything?
Speaker 2 (13:26):
Was just uh, There's just sometimes there's things I can't
do only because I am by myself. They'll like, don't
They'll want certain types of pizzas or something, and I
can't really do pizza for like individual I can't do
twenty five individual pizzas. It's just too hard. And so
so there's there's certain things that I that are just
(13:46):
a little beyond beyond my byreach. But as a chef,
I understand that, and so I just don't put it
on the menu. I know what my capabilities are, and
I try to I try to stretch those limits a
little bit sometimes, but I I definitely never get myself
in deep water to where where you know, because they
have to they eat, they sign up to eat at
a certain time five or five fifteen or five point thirty.
(14:09):
And I know a lot of them have classes. So
I don't want to. I don't want to be so
behind that they're you know, they have to leave and
don't get food because they have to go to class,
or they're going to be late to class because I'm behind.
So I again, it's just that balance of like, you know,
not overstepping my balance and knowing knowing what my limitations are.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Have you had, you know, reformed relationships with some of
these girls a dad or a brother. Are there something
that you keep in touch with it are no longer
living in the house.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Well, I don't keep in touch with any of them,
but I have run into some of them locally, and
it's always like, hey, how you doing. You know, long
time no see And it's just like it's really great
to see them because I do I do friends form
friendships with them. It's it's kind of like like your
work family, Like they just live in the house. I'm
(15:12):
just the chef. But to me, these are the girls
I see every single day when I go to work,
So they're like my work family. And I talk to
them and I, you know, I quick, Hey, how you doing.
Oh I'm a little stressed. I got a test today.
Oh what class are you in? And we just have
little conversations and and so I I learn about them,
where they're from, when where they're going home for the
(15:33):
holidays and uh so, so it is nice to uh
to form these friendships with them, But yeah, I don't.
I don't really keep in touch with any of them.
But it's always great to see them outside of the house.
Even if I'm just at the grocery store on a
Saturday and I run into a couple of them. You know,
it's it's it's not awkward, it's it's very friendly and warm.
(15:53):
It's a it's just a warm how you doing, And
it's really nice.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
It's awesome. These girls, These are very lucky girls. I
hope they know how lucky they are.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
People say that I always feel like I'm the lucky one.
You know, it's it's it's the best job in the world.
It really is. Wow.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
I I love hearing that. I haven't heard anyone say
that in a very long time.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Yeah, it's a I'm blessed. I am.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
I want to follow you now on TikTok. Where do
we find you?
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Old school Chemo across the board TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, old
school it's old old DS cool, c O L Kemo.
I always say that because old.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Cool, old is cool. And what about keV Mo?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
So Kemo's just what my friends always used to call
me when I was when I was like starting in
high school, they always called me Kevmo instead of Kevin Kevin.
So it became old old school Chemo, all right, And
it just it just kind of stuck. And I wasn't
even sure when I had to pick a user name.
It's just when I threw out there and then my
accounts kind of blew up.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
I mean they really have, Like, am I right? Do
you have like five million followers something?
Speaker 2 (17:00):
I do? On on I have like eight On TikTok,
I have like five and a half million followers. I
have about eight million followers across the board total, and
it's just been.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
A eight million followers. I mean, what do you think
that is?
Speaker 2 (17:14):
What?
Speaker 1 (17:14):
I mean? Yes, I think people want to see what
goes on I guess in a sorority house, but can't
be it. I mean, is it what you're cooking? Is
it your personality that people just find very charming and calming?
What is it that is drawing all of these people
to you?
Speaker 2 (17:28):
I think I think a lot of it. People tell
me it's my voice. They say they could listen to me,
you know, read the phone book. I always used to
try to sing when I was younger, and I was
terrible at singing because I can't carry a tune. But
I guess just speaking, I never you know, I just
assumed even speaking it was because I had a bad voice.
(17:50):
But when I started doing my videos, they say, I
love your voice. I love your voice. And I always, like,
was told you're a terrible singer. You're a terrible singer.
So it's like it was really hard for me to
to make make that connection of like it's okay to
be a bad thing of but maybe I do have
a good speaking voice. Yes, so that's what people tell me.
Maybe that's part of it. I really do put a
lot of it on the fact that people are curious
(18:13):
what goes on in the sorority house, and they don't
see anything that goes on in the house. They see
the kitchen and that's all. I don't show any parts
of the house. Come on, no, I try to keep
them out of the videos as much as I can.
You might just catch the back of one of them
their head as they walk by, like in the background,
But I try to try to keep their privacy to themselves,
try to make it about them, but more about me
(18:34):
and the food I'm serving.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
I feel like you would be watching watching would be
like watching what is the guy's name, Bob Green, the painter,
Bob Roster, Bob Rost. Yes, I feel like it would
be like that a little bit.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
People have compared me to him as the Bob Ross
of cooking, so I do too, And I don't mind that.
You know, he had a he had a very cool.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Vibe, spromizing way about him.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Yeah, and I and I do the same thing with
you know, a little bit of salt here and just
a little bit of garlic over there and whatever. So
it's it's I suppose I.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Love that, very grateful that you can't talk to us.
Speaker 2 (19:11):
Yeah, me too, this is this is cool. I love
sharing my story. I love telling everybody about it, just
because it is. I think it's a unique situation. And
it's a like before I before the pandemic, and actually
before I got the phone call about coming in and
interviewing for the job, I never knew a job like
this existed. I don't know what I thought, what I
(19:32):
thought they did. I didn't know that sorority houses and
the fraternities as well have chefs. And I didn't realize
this I did.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
I mean, I lived in one, but I wouldn't. I
just I don't know. I didn't really register, you know,
like who was cooking.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
Yeah, up at the campus, there's different food outlets, and
I know there's chefs there, and I maybe just assume
that's where all the food came from. I didn't think
of it, being like the house I work in is
not regulated by by the city. It's it's not a restaurant.
It's a private it's a private home. So essentially I'm
a private chef just working at this home, cooking for
(20:10):
these girls. And it's just it's just really really neat.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
It's uh, I remember we had a couple of I
thought of them as cooks more than chefs. I don't
remember them being as invested and with as much experience.
I think these girls, again, are very lucky.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
Yeah, it's it's funny because I've I've cooked in I
live in Reno, and I've cooked in this town as
a chef for thirty years. And I've met a lot
of chefs, and I have a lot of really close
friends that have been in the industry for so long,
and they all tell me, Man, how did you get
that job? Like that's a dream job And I never
really thought about it. But a lot of my chefs,
(20:48):
who are very high up, working in the casinos, working
in you know, very successful restaurants, they want to leave
those jobs and like get themselves a sorority house job
or a fret house job. You know, they want to
they want to take it easy on the weekends, they
want to take the summers off, and they want to
they want to get out of that. It's a grind
working in the industry. It's a tough shot to be
(21:10):
and you know, as for cooks, dishwashers, servers, the whole industry,
it's a it's a hard business. To be in. So
I feel like I got lucky and I can still
cook and I can still share my passion, but I
don't have to deal with the whole restaurant industry anymore.
So it makes me feel good. It's not it's it's
my heart goes out to everybody still doing it. It's
(21:30):
a tough business and it's like where I spent my career.
So I I love all the people in it, and
I really try to treat them all well and take
care of them. But on the other hand, I'm like, oh,
look at me now. You know. It's like you guys
might be a.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Yeah, I started something here, you're starting. Who knows there's
going to be a new wave of Greek house chefs.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
It's so cool, I think. So I think people are
seeing that it's a it's a pretty cool gig, and
I just, you know, I was a little I was
a little curious when I took the job, how other
people were gonna look at me as a chef, you know,
working in a sorority house. And it didn't. It didn't.
Not that I have a great reputation, but it didn't
(22:16):
take my reputation at all. They all just absolutely followers.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
I'm feeling like people like looking at you, so I
think I suppose all right, keV Moo, well, thank you
so much for joining us. Absolutely really cool, so interesting.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
We appreciate
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