Chimes sits down with Calvin’s Executive Chef Ian Ramirez. From cooking for celebrities to community gardens, we get the scoop on food at Calvin.

Chimes: Thanks for talking with us, Ian. We’re starting this new Q and A section where we talk to people who have interesting jobs on campus. A few of our staffers went to the luncheons for the January Series and were really impressed with the food you cooked, so we thought you would be a good person to talk to.

Ramirez: Thank you! I hope my food met their expectations at least.

Chimes: Oh, it did! Can you tell me a little about your background, how you came to Calvin?

Ramirez: Well, let’s see, I’ve been in the industry for 21 years now. I started out in high school at Butch’s Dry Dock in Holland, and worked there for a little while. The head chef said, “You’re going to be my sous chef.” I had no idea what that even meant — I was in ninth grade when I started there. I worked there for a while, and one day my boss sat me down and said, “I have to let you go.” He said he taught me everything he knew, so he sent me to another restaurant to learn from one of his friends.

I worked the restaurant circuit for a while, and then I decided to get into the corporate world. I was executive chef at Herman Miller for six years. After that I was offered a job at Hope College through Creative Dining Services.  After about a year I was promoted to work at Whirlpool Co. where I also became the personal chef for the President of Whirlpool.  I came here to Calvin College in the fall of 2010.  I started in late November, so I didn’t have much time at all to prepare for this thing called January Series.

[Chef Ramirez prepares a luncheon for every January Series speaker and the honored guests at each talk.]

Ramirez: The January Series is definitely the highlight of the year for me because it’s so intense. We never do the same menu twice; we always try to push the envelope. Within these past four years, we’ve created 180 new dishes, 45 per January Series.

Chimes: So you’ve cooked for some pretty famous people, then.

Ramirez: The January Series alone has brought a lot of pretty amazing guests. I also do all of our catering, so I cook for all the bands that come here — that’s a neat perk of the job. I get to meet and hang out with all the bands and sometimes hang out with people throughout the day. Ingrid Michaelson was just here and her manager gave me his number and said, “Call me any time you want to come see a show.”

Chimes: So those sound like some of the highlights of the job! What is your day-to-day work like here?

Ramirez: It is different almost every day. Some days are definitely more difficult and chaotic than others. I help more with production as far as coming up with new meals. There’s a lot of research and development there — like the Taqueria, that was my baby. Something like that is a huge task because you have to source all the ingredients. We’re not going to find chicken that’s premade, we’re not going to buy beef out of a box. Another challenge is making sure the food meets all our allergy requirements.

Chimes: You led the cooking class at the rock wall last year, right?

Ramirez: I did! I do a lot of different cooking classes here, especially with the Calvin Culinary Club. [Addison Sung] has been doing a great job with it. We just did a pasta class with all fresh pasta — beet pasta, pumpkin pasta, spinach leek, herb and garlic pasta. We had around 25 students there.

We did a cheese-making class that day, too. It was a really long day for everyone! It’s an aged cheese that takes three months to make, so this spring we’ll take it out and taste it and learn about the aging process. I also do a lot of the “healthy habits” classes for the faculty.

Chimes: What is your favorite part about your job?

I would say just being able to be as creative as I want. I try not to get too scary with food for people, but I think I have the type of clientele that is not picky. The Le Roys are not picky; they are really adventurous with their eating.

Chimes: What is your biggest accomplishment?

Ramirez: I guess winning some of these competitions against some of the most talented chefs in Michigan.

Chimes: What’s next for you professionally?

Ramirez: I am currently getting certified for a HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) food safety certification. I have a few new concepts that I hope to be launching within the new school year. We are looking at a “Bagger Dave’s”concept where we serve local, fresh burgers and fries. Next Thursday, Feb. 12, we will launch something called the Fronut that we will only have once in a while. That is all I am going to tell you about it! It will ruin people’s New Year’s resolutions.

Chimes: So now, for the big question: which dining hall is better?

Ramirez: Let me think about the politically correct way to say that. I am going to get in trouble here! Let’s just go with Commons because the Taqueria is here and that is my baby. Also, my office is here at Commons.

Chimes: Anything else we should know about your work at Calvin?

Ramirez: I think it’s very important as a chef to see where your food comes from, rather than just going to the supermarket and picking up a package of meat. I deal with a lot of local farmers. We also work with the Calvin community garden, and we have pretty much bought everything they have grown there; we take all the things they give us. I met with those guys a couple of months ago and we picked out all the seeds for next year. If we can do it while supporting all of the organizations in the college. People have been really happy that we are doing it. We just need to get the word out.

This interview has been edited and condensed.