The chefs that fuel Greek Life

Swapping out the traditional toque blanche for a bright orange fedora, Andrew “Andy” Field begins his Friday morning scrubbing the steam table in the kitchen and jamming out to classic rock. In a few hours, students will stream into the dining room — some shuffling downstairs still in their pajamas, others coming from apartments or dorm halls, for brunch. The aroma of breakfast food will waft through the Alpha Gamma Delta house: pancakes sizzling on the griddle, hash browns cracking in the fryer and bacon crisping in the oven.

For now, Field is alone, fully immersed in the rhythm of the music and the kitchen.

Field is one of many chefs who have traded the often chaotic pace of restaurants for a more controlled environment: feeding college students in Greek Life houses. These chefs are fueling the next generation of CEOs, doctors, publicists and politicians. They handle everything, from prep to clean-up, while enjoying freedom and creative control, two benefits rarely found in the culinary world.

Unlike restaurant life, where executive chefs work around 60 hours a week, Greek Life chefs enjoy standard nine-to-five schedules. Field emphasizes that having time outside of work is priceless.

“Time is so much more valuable than money,” Field said. “I worked 52 weeks a year at 60 plus hours a week. You know, that’s a lot of extra time that I didn’t really get paid for, so that’s where I’m kind of reclaiming this now.”

Field works for the Fraternity Housing Corporation, which manages multiple Greek houses nationwide. Within a set budget, he has complete control over the Alpha Gam kitchen.

“[My boss] knows that I’m a professional chef,” Field said. “I’ve run restaurants around here that are awesome, that do a great job. I love that I have autonomy to do whatever I want.”

Chef Alex also relishes the creative freedom he has in this role. While restaurants have specific niches and culinary styles, Alex is free to develop his own menus at the Alpha Xi Delta house.

“You’re kind of stuck in your genre,” Alex said. “Whereas here, I’m doing whatever the girls want, cooking new things. There’s a lot of variety.”

Monday through Thursday, Alex cooks for 30 sorority members that live in the house. His weekly menus range from Chipotle-inspired burrito bowls and hot honey chicken sandwiches, to Mediterranean quinoa bowls and pad thai.

Similar to Field, Alex also serves brunch every Friday, where he usually cooks for 100 students.

“I try to tell them to come in waves,” Alex said. “Don’t come all at once because I’m just one man.”

Alex acts as the house’s sole kitchen operator. He manages food orders, preps meals, orders equipment and even makes desserts, essentially functioning as a solo caterer.

Greek Life cooking allows Alex to pursue his craft without sacrificing family time: “It’s much more family-friendly,” Alex said.

After years in fine dining, Chef Kiki Murriel wanted a change, seeking a calmer pace.

“Fine dining is very, very stressful, especially in the executive chef role,” Murriel said. “Stressful in the mind, stressful on the body – I really needed to step out of that role.”

Searching for a culinary position that gave her both creative control and free time, Murriel was inspired by her friends who worked as private chefs for Greek Life houses.

Now a chef at the Kappa Alpha Theta house, Murriel enjoys a schedule closer to a nine-to-five, with holidays, school breaks and weekends off. In her newfound free time, Murriel spends time with her family and dogs.

When creating her menus, Murriel hosts monthly meetings with students to discuss which foods they liked or didn’t like. She also encourages meal suggestions.

Murriel incorporates fresh produce from upstate New York into her dishes, providing healthy options for Theta members and utilizing in-season fruits and vegetables.

“I got apples this week,” Murriel said. “We’re having apple pie pancakes tomorrow with three different kinds of apples from three different local orchards, and I’m super excited to make that.”

Of course, working solo has its drawbacks. Greek Life chefs have to manage every task while missing the camaraderie and intensity of a traditional kitchen. But for many, the creative control, predictable schedule and meaningful connections with students outweigh the challenges. Some chefs, like Kevin Ashton and Grant Groscost, even gained large TikTok followings while cooking for sorority and fraternity members.

Greek Life chefs are redefining what it means to lead a kitchen. They balance creativity, responsibility and care, fueling students not just with food but with community and connection.

“
I’m just here to cook, but I’m also here to be a protector, like make sure everybody’s doing well,” Field said.

Beyond the cooking, Field sees himself as a mentor, offering a listening ear for personal problems, the day’s events or just casual food talk, while respecting students who prefer not to talk.

“That’s how I would want the person here to treat my daughter if she was in a sorority,” Field said.

From Friday brunch to thoughtfully crafted seasonal dishes, these chefs quietly shape the daily lives, and tastes, of tomorrow’s leaders. 

“It’s an honor to feed these girls who are going to learn and make the world a better place,” Murriel said.