"It'll be about five minutes." Jim Carroll said to the three girls arriving at his "induction" station at GSP dining hall to receive their Thai chicken wraps for lunch on Wednesday. Sweat slides down from Jim's hairnet, which covers his round head, and continues over his face that is red from the heat rising from the burner.
This is right where Carroll loves to be. He is the induction cook at GSP dining hall, meaning that he cooks using pans that are heated by magnets and cooks each guest's meal to order. Interacting with the residents and guests in the GSP-Corbin hall is what Carroll enjoys most about his job.
"I like to find out where they are from, what's going on in their lives, and if they like my food," Carroll said.
At 52, Carroll enjoys his life and has a great passion for cooking. He cooks at work, and when he goes home, he cooks more.
"He's had a love for cooking all his life," said Ima Carroll, his mother.
Carroll was first inspired to cook as a child, when he would visit his grandmother who prepared three meals a day at a school in Kansas City. He would stand in the kitchen and watch her cook, and she would make him help. One of his favorite memories is making huge cinnamon rolls with his grandmother during Christmas time. They were two inches high and four inches wide.
From his grandmother's kitchen, Carroll continued to cook. After high school he attended Atchison Vo-Tech School for two years and has since cooked for hospitals, restaurants, and private parties before coming to dining services at the University of Kansas.
Carroll puts in 40-50 hours a week at GSP and prefers working at GSP dining hall rather than Mrs. E's.
Jim Carroll serves food in GSP Dining.
"Mrs. E's is just too busy--They herd 'em in, and herd 'em out," Carroll said. Carroll worked in Mrs. E's for seven years and transferred to GSP dining hall when he injured his knee and needed a slower paced job.
Barb Wilson, manager of GSP dining hall, said that Carroll's interaction with the residents helps give the impression that the dining hall staff is like your second family, always there to serve your meal and to talk with as well.
"Jim tries to be friends with everybody, he's very outgoing," said David Carroll, his father.
This is Carroll's third year in the GSP dining hall and Jenny Geide, Ellsworth senior, has worked in the GSP dining hall with him all three years. She really enjoys his sense of humor and encouraging attitude.
"You can tell he really loves his job," Geide said.
Carroll said that he is motivated by the "thank yous" he receives from the recipients of his food and also by his strong Christian faith. He is a regular attendee at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Lawrence.
"When there are a lot of people waiting and I want to go faster but can't rush, I just remember that the Lord is on my side." Carroll said.
When Carroll is not standing at the "induction" station whipping up special dinners in GSP, he enjoys cooking for fun and loves to visit his parents, David and Ima, who have retired in Lawrence. Although he is the only family member to have made a career out of cooking, everyone cooks his or her own dishes when there is a gathering, and his mother Ima is quite protective of her kitchen. He remembers a particular Mother's Day when she was sick.
"She allowed me into her kitchen and told me how to cook."
Cooking is Carroll's spice of life. He wipes the sweat rolling down his cheek with his white shirtsleeve as he uses the other arm to flip the custom omelet sizzling in the skillet.
"I enjoy cooking everything but liver," Carroll said.
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