BY STEVEN J. THOMAS

With the abundance of snow and the changing cold weather visiting Franciscan University, the cafeteria offers some delicious hot foods to warm the insides and cheer the heart. Along with the change in weather, students may have noticed some changes in the Caf. In this week of Cooking with Butch, the chef gave the scoop on the changes, among other things, related to food.

As many people may or may not already know, Butch Turner is one of Sodexo's long time employees, entering into almost 30 years of service. During this time, he has seen many a fall semester go by, and the spring semester arrive. This spring semester, students came back surprised to find the newest addition to the Caf.

In the downstairs of the Caf, there now stands a large, circular and contemporary counter situated in the center of the room. According to Turner, this is going to be the "new Red Hot Station". Students will be finding him there at his station during the weekdays in lunch hour with all the appetizing meals associated with it.

The functionality to this new setup is key, although in Turner's opinion, he still likes the old one "because it's closer to the kitchen." Despite this, the "Center Action Station," as it is called, contains a convenient amount of burners to keep the food hot.

Among the many specials that Sodexo provides each week, there will be Butch's famous stir-fry, which students have consistently lined up for in the past. Along with this, there is a refrigeration system designed to keep perishables such as eggs, cheeses and meats fresh.

Another added convenience is the location of the utensils, which are placed in nooks around the outside of the Station, saving the students from having to walk across the room to get them. "But if this is the case," you might ask, "what is going to happen to the former Red Hot Chef station?"

Turner explained that his former location upstairs is going to be transformed into an all-new Salad Bar. Here students can expect to find an assortment of fresh and nutritious choices. Some of these include romaine, spinach, and other lettuces tossed in freshly-made salad dressings of olive oil, garlic and herbs—all of which should delight the health-minded.

Aside from the changes at the Caf during winter break, you might wonder, what does Butch cook for the holidays or while he is at home? With a chuckle, he gave the reply, "I let my relatives do that. At Thanksgiving and stuff they like to cook, so I let them do it. When I'm at home, I cook something simple because it's just me. I like breakfast foods. I could eat that for dinner; stuff like scrambled eggs."

Through all of the transitions, Butch's main concern is to serve the students with quality food and service, seasoned with his trademark of cheerful conversation. As he said, "I just like communicating with the students."