Be our guest, IU Greek style

Dale McNees, head cook for the fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha, drives a Mustang to work.

“He drives a Shelby GT 300,” said Eric Stoner, sophomore and house manager for Lambda Chi. “White, with blue stripes.”

It’s the first thing house members mention about Stoner.

After this comes talk not of their cook’s food, but of his personality.

“He’s pretty down to earth,” sophomore Lamda Chi member Ryan Thie said. “Pretty friendly.”

Stoner said McNees is part of the community of their house.

“He’s a fun guy who always tries to remember everyone’s name and ask how they’re doing every day,” Stoner said.

Luke Beasley, executive chef for the sorority Alpha Delta Pi, is not known for driving a Mustang to work, but his choice — or rather, lack of — hairstyle.

“We all know him,” sophomore Ilana Heisler said about their cook. “We nicknamed him ‘Bald Luke’.”

At many greek houses on campus, live-in members know who their chefs are.
Beyond that, many of them know the chefs personally.

“I’m kind of their dad away from home, eight months a year,” McNees said.

He started working at Lambda Chi this year but previously spent 16 years working at the sorority Alpha Chi Omega on campus.

Throughout the years he said he’s helped students with car troubles and personal issues, not just with making sure they’re fed.

“You do whatever you can,” he said. “You don’t want to leave anyone stranded.”

It’s also Beasley’s first year cooking for his greek house ADPi.

“It’s the easiest job I’ve ever had,” he said. “I’ve cooked for 1,200 people before. Things are really slow. You’re only cooking for 110 girls.”

McNees has an even lighter load. However, he’s feeding boys.

“We’ve got 60 live-ins,” he said, “so I feed 95 people.”

He said for meals such as hamburgers he always plans on twice as much as he normally would.

“Basically, the meat is going to be double than a sorority,” he said.

So to make hamburgers for 60 boys, that’s about 20 pounds of hamburger meat  for one meal.

Heisler said Beasley goes out of his way to make meals the girls in her sorority want.

“Yesterday he made us chicken noodle soup, because a few of us didn’t feel well,” she said.

The girls simply write what they’d like to eat on a white board in their kitchen, and then Beasley sees what he can do to make that dish happen.

McNees said his favorite part of his job is seeing them enjoy the food.

“To see the food disappear,” McNees said. “There’s nothing worse than making a meal and no one showing up.”

Beasley pointed out another perk.

“When you guys are in school, I don’t have to work, and I still get paid,” Beasley said with a grin.

McNees noted this as well.

“Where else can you get a gift like that?” he said.

He said when his kids were growing up, one of the nicest things about his job was getting breaks and summer vacations off.

Regardless of perks, the greek students are appreciative of the food, which they say is fantastic.

“We never have the same meal twice,” Stoner said.

Heisler said she likes her chef’s food.

“What I like most is once a month we have Thanksgiving dinner,” Heisler said. “It’s delicious.”

McNees said he pulls recipes from everywhere, including from his mother’s cookbook.

He said he has enjoyed his time at Lambda Chi so far and plans to stay.

“It’s been a nice, fresh start,” he said.

With a look at McNees, Stoner said, “Dale is the favorite part of my morning.”

McNees also said he loves his job and it’s not difficult.

“Cooking’s not hard, as long as you care,” he said.