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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2013
CAMPUS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Sorority's cook serves up more than just food
KAITLYN KLEIN
kklein@kansan.com
Sigma Kappa's cook Dennis Hill does more than prepare meals for sorority women. He also does maintenance, gives car advice and most importantly, he listens.
Shelby Cato, Sigma Kappa's president, said Hill is a part of their chapter's family.
"On my Facebook page I put cook listener," Hill said. "There's always somebody sitting in that chair, talking."
"The girls look to him as more than a chef," Cato said. "We look to him as a friend and someone who can listen when we have problems." Because he has been around 23 years, he knows the chapter well and is willing to give ideas to the women as well as help out with any event that may need it, Cato said.
"To the chapter he's a big point of stability," Cato said. "He's a constant."
Cato said she remembers one day she was really sick and Hill noticed and decided to make her soup.
"That was two years ago and I still remember it because it was such a thoughtful thing to do." Cato said. "He's always there for us."
Hill said over the years he has perfected his advice because the women go through similar problems, whether it's learning their limits with alcohol or learning to juggle relationships and friendships.
Sometimes Hill deals with more serious issues and said eating disorders are the hardest he's seen.
Though he knows that those situations are outside of his realm of expertise, he tries to watch out for the signs that mean a cry for help. "But once you become friends with somebody you can't just ignore it." Hill said. "That's a tough
situation."
Hill said it is an issue that doesn't happen often, but it's something he seen a few times before.
With other issues, he tries to listen to the girls and give advice that he said is pretty universal.
"I guess that's the advantage of being here year after year after year," Hill said. "You can kind of home some of those messages down to their essence and not sound too preachy or judgmental."
Another difficult part of his job.
Another uncle is saying good-bye to a group of women he's spent several years getting to know.
Though some often come back to visit, they are gone to start their own lives after graduation.
"I'm sure teachers feel the same way sometimes." Hill said.
But, every year a new group of women come to sit in Hill's kitchen to talk about their boy problems, class schedules and food preferences.
Hill said cooking meals for more than 60 different women can be difficult and he wishes they would be more open to trying new things.
The most requested meal is shells and cheese, but Hill always tries to talk them into varying their diets and trying new meals.
"One of my favorite things that girls say is: 'you sound just like my dad,'" he said. "That's great; I love that."
The women of Sigma Kappa consider Hill and the house boys who help him a part of their family.
"It's very laid back," Cato said. "You feel like you're eating a home cooked meal with your family, which you are."
kitchen during mealtime.
"The girls look to him as more than a chef. We look to him as a friend and someone who can listen when we have problems."
That family atmosphere is one of Sigma Kappa's strengths, Hill said, and he sees it among the girls and the house boys, too.
Chatter and laughter fills the
"One of the girls described our waiters: 'they are kind of like your brothers; you love them, but you hate them," Hill said.
Sam Komosa, one of the house
boys, also described Sigma Kappa as a family. He said he has grown close to his coworkers, especially Dennis.
"He's the answer man," Komosa said. "Like you know if there's a problem, and somebody says 'I know a guy...?' He's the
guy"
Komosa said though dinnertime is hectic because of all the preparations, he enjoys the atmosphere.
"It makes for exciting work especially when the girls come in and we get to hear about their day," Komosa said.
They tease each other and they are all friendly, Hill said.
Hill said he joins in and often teases the girls about his favorite part of his job: "There's always a vacation about six weeks around the corner."
Edited by Hannah Barling
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
Chef Dennis Hill poses with freshly baked pies in the Sigma Kappa kitchen. Hill has worked at the sorority for 23 years and is considered part of the sorority family.
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