A taste of home: The hearty effort behind Convo’s “Fat Bar”
By Lauren Gulden, a senior journalism digital media major and creative writing minor
From dirt cake, crumbly cookies and ever-changing ice cream flavors, Ashland University students expect familiarity and comfort when approaching the dessert bar. Most AU alumni and students know it as “Fat Bar,” an affectionate term picked up throughout many years of daily dining.
The John C. Myers Convocation Center, or “Convo,” is AU’s main dining hall, an award-winning one at that. The building is not only meant for serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it also serves as a convivial hub – a place for students, faculty, staff and community members to spend time together and share experiences.
Many students have their regular, go-to meals and employees they know by name – conversations and check-ins as they progress through fleeting undergrad programs.
Convo is a place we’ve all passed through, made ourselves comfortable and sunk into at AU.
“We try to do stuff that the kids see from home,” said Natalie Kocher, one of Convo’s devoted bakers. “That’s the comfort part of it – you get brownies, you get cookies . . . things you would get at home,” she said. She emphasized that the culinary team looks to make the dining hall a comfortable place with these foods to choose from, with the addition of a plethora of gluten-free options as well as other allergy-friendly desserts.
Kocher specializes in baking gluten-free products. She enjoys making sure that students with celiac disease don’t have to eat the same thing every day, and instead can look forward to new, delicious items at the “Fat Bar.”
“Without the students, I don’t have a job,” she said. “The students come first, their needs come first. Their wants come first.”
General Manager of Dining Services, Fred Geib said that Convo’s food is made with care.
In the kitchen, there are multiple mixers, ovens, fryers and a brand new smoker. He said, “The quality of the items that we’re putting out is unmatched for any dining program. I’ll put us up against anybody.”
Kocher along with other cooks and bakers arrive at the Convocation Center at 3 a.m. (sometimes 2 a.m.) daily to begin prepping ingredients. The team begins each morning by starting up the machines, mixing doughnuts and making the food plan for the day.
The kitchen in lower convo is also responsible for other food supply on and off campus. This means event catering and concessions. Cookies and products like, “Tuffy Chow,” are made in house, and then shipped off to neighboring stores each business morning.
With constant production and ever-changing menus, the atmosphere in the dining hall becomes even more special around the holidays.
Employees dress up for Halloween, decorate the entire first floor and present tables of candy and festive desserts for students. For Thanksgiving and near Christmas, the “Fat Bar” gets more of a creative touch as students will find pumpkin pie and holiday-themed cookies and cupcakes.
Each day, the production sheet is different for Convo’s bakers and cooks, making for a slightly different selection of desserts. Kocher and her team enjoy each early morning and are always looking for ways to make the “Fat Bar” even sweeter for students.
