‘I have always been drawn to restaurants’

Five questions about study, life and work

Brian Campbell, who earned his B.A. in anthropology in 1993, is director of culinary research & development at On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina. He answered our five questions from us this way:

1. When did you first know that the career you now have was right for you?

I have always been drawn to restaurants and the food service industry. When I was little, I used to write out the menu for a restaurant I would own someday. I think it had only hotdogs and hamburgers on it. I “developed” my first recipe when I was about 12. It was a mix of ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate chips.

I think the biggest obstacle for me was figuring out how to transition from where I was as a 22-year-old with a B.A. in anthropology who had cooked in some college town restaurants to where I wanted to be, a restaurant chef.I did not have aspirations of being a chef out of high school, and attended CU and found a fascination with anthropology. During my time at CU I worked at a sandwich shop, at Potter’s on Pearl Street and at Philly Junction. I always loved the work, and I noticed that I seemed to care more than other employees who were just earning a paycheck. I always rose to the top and got to the point where I would be closing down and locking up at night.

I remember one guest who came into the sandwich shop I worked at would always have me make his sandwich because he thought I made it better than anyone else. At Philly Junction I remember caring about the value of the product we were serving the guest and wanting to give them only the very best I could. As graduation neared, I realized that I wanted to pursue a career in the restaurant business but didn’t really know how to make that happen on a professional level.

2. What notable obstacles did you overcome as you established your career?

I think the biggest obstacle for me was figuring out how to transition from where I was as a 22-year-old with a B.A. in anthropology who had cooked in some college town restaurants to where I wanted to be, a restaurant chef. My goal at the time was to move into fine dining.

During my last semester at CU, I heard about the Culinary Institute of America, and knew that would be the place for me to go. I had a strong academic base, but needed to gain serious cooking skills. I think the biggest benefit I received from my education at CU was learning how to learn. In food and beverage, you can never learn enough. Without being able to research and learn, one stops growing.

3. What advice would you have for students about how to make the most of their education?

The best advice I have is to always pursue education and take the most of your opportunities while at CU and beyond. Looking at my own career path, my education at CU definitely has assisted in my culinary career. Not only in the information I had acquired, but also in the doors that opened because I had earned a bachelor’s degree. You never know where your path in life will take you. Learn all you can and see how what you know applies to where you are.

4. What role did your studies at CU-Boulder have in your career success?

It is interesting to look back and see the connections in my past and how my education in anthropology is relevant in a career in food. Some connections are easy. Two classes I have drawn from the most are Darna Dufour’s “Nutrition and Anthropology” and Russ McGoodwin’s “Maritime Peoples.”

In Darna Dufour’s course, I learned a lot about nutrition band cultural food ways, but I also learned about blind taste tests, order preference in taste tests, and visual perception of food. We did this by conducting a taste test of Pepsi vs. Crystal Pepsi blindfolded and having people taste various flavors of baby food that had been dyed different colors to throw off the visual cues of flavor. I recall these when helping to set up taste tests at On The Border.

In Mcgoodwin’s “Maritime Peoples” course. I learned a lot about commercial and artisanal fisheries and issues involving fishery management. Earlier in my career I spent nine years working at Café Pacific, a 30-year-old fine dining seafood institution in Dallas. This understanding of how a product gets from the ocean to plate helped tremendously when it came time for me to source fish for the restaurant. The issues I learned about in this class became very real when they affect my food cost or the quality of the product I was sourcing.

Throughout my anthropology classes, I learned about culture and how culture works to mold behavior. What causes cultures/people to make the food choices that they make? These are questions I am still trying to answer everyday.

5. What other observations would you like to share?

Twenty-one years ago when I graduated from CU, I didn’t have this career path charted out. I had a desire to get into fine dining and I had a great run at Café Pacific. Now I have spent the past decade in casual dining at On The Border, the nation’s largest casual dining Mexican food chain. I think that the future of the food and beverage industry is stronger than ever.

Yes there are challenges but those challenges give us opportunity. There is no one path into this business and no one skill set that succeeds other than having a passion for food and hospitality.

Feb. 27, 2015