As it was officially announced last week, Bruce Emmerson, the food service director here at Eastern Mennonite University, is retiring from EMU after 17 years. Before Bruce had started working here at EMU, he had been a chef for about 30 years before deciding he wanted some sort of change, and he knew some people that were starting a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. Bruce said, “It was a big mistake to go to be a chef at that restaurant because the people starting it did not know what to do and it failed quickly.” Bruce said after that job, he was looking for new work, and one of the instructors at where he went to culinary school had heard about a job here at EMU. This instructor told Bruce about this job and suggested that he try it. Bruce said that before he started working here, he had never heard about the Mennonite church, and that this was the first interaction with it that he had ever had.
Bruce said, “This was the first time I had a job like this, I had not had to make a menu before, and this was different from what I was used to at this point. For the first year or so, I never knew what to put on the menu; my two kids were still in college at this point, so I would call them and ask them what they would like to have in their cafeteria.” Bruce kept saying repeatedly that the most important thing is to listen to the students. Quoting directly, he said, “The most important thing is to listen to the students and let them drive the menu.” While he was here, he listened to student feedback and gave them more vegetarian options and special nights like ballpark night and student appreciation night, which he started doing about 12 years ago. The Pioneer Dish of the week used to be a Mennonite recipe, but with declining Mennonite enrollment, he heard that the Mennonite recipe was not as popular, so he changed it to the pioneer dish.
Bruce said, “Before me, I did not know what happened; all I know is the bar was set very low because people were impressed when I just made sure that stuff showed up on time.” Bruce said that Covid was a hard time for him because the best part of his job was interacting with and getting to know the students, but he could not do that during the pandemic.
As for why he is retiring, he said, “The reason why I am retiring is I am getting older, and I can not do the job like I would like to anymore, so I figure it is time to stop and take more time for fishing.”
Many students had positive things to say about Bruce and his time here at EMU. Mikayla Pettus, a sophomore, said, “He is always welcoming to all students and made an effort to be friendly to all.”
Cassidy Walker, a sophomore, said, “Thank you! You have done so much for your students, and you deserve to be told how much we appreciate you. You helped advance braille menus, didn’t shy from tough conversations, and always tried to help and make sure EMU’s students felt like they were eating a home-cooked meal. We love you, Bruce.”
