A call to cook
After leaving a career in education, Towson University Executive Chef John Williams found his culinary calling by watching Food Network’s “Chopped”
By Kyle Hobstetter on September 20, 2018
With 18 dining venues on campus, Towson University has plenty of food options. This story is part of a series that looks at on-campus executive chefs who bring their own cooking styles to TU.
Located on the first floor of Administration Building, Café 7720 primarily serves Towson University’s administrative staff.
But while the space is their lunchtime escape, it’s also an office for John Williams, Café 7720’s executive chef since fall 2017.
It’s hard to believe the Philadelphia native once made it a point to stay out of the kitchen. Williams admits he was the last among his five brothers and sisters to learn how to cook.
He said he would also be the last person his siblings would have expected to be in the kitchen, let alone having a culinary career.
“When I told my friends I was going to culinary school, they thought it was a joke,” Williams said through a laugh. “I still have to reflect sometimes that I’m actually cooking for a living.”
Williams is still relatively new to the culinary game, having been in the industry for just under eight years. His first career was in education, serving as a dean of students at several high schools in the Philadelphia area.
Then the disciplinary side of education started taking a toll, Williams said.
One night while flipping through the channels with his son, he stopped on the popular Food Network show, “Chopped.” While watching the cooking competition, Williams found his next career.
“I thought to myself ‘maybe I can do that,’” he recalled. “The next day I signed up for culinary school, and I’ve been cooking ever since.”
After attending the Art Institute of Philadelphia, Williams moved to Baltimore after his wife took a job working for the NFL Players Association. Shortly thereafter, he accepted a position in Towson University’s Catering Department after interviewing with executive chef Kevin Ryan.
Williams stayed in catering for two years before circumstances led him to Café 7720. And while he enjoyed working with the group in catering, he never got to see anybody. At Café 7720 he interacts with the faculty, staff and students on a regular basis.
He even gets to cook for them personally, as Café 7720 hosts a different “action station” on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the semester. Here Williams creates items that don’t appear on the regular menu — including a barbecue station, shrimp and grits and made-to-order pasta bar.
“I enjoy getting that face-to-face with people every day,” Williams said. “This doesn’t feel like work for me. I work with great people and have built some great relationships.”
And while most of the customers are TU faculty and staff, students also trek to the Administration Building for Café 7720 fare. Williams has heard students call his food the best on campus.
The praise makes Williams want to see more students in Café 7720. He knows that although word about him is getting around campus, his staff is just as important.
“My staff is phenomenal,” Williams said. “When I came over here, we had to make a quick, unexpected transition, and they took it all in stride. I love my staff. To get that kind of praise means a lot to me.”
After switching careers early in life, Williams admits the praise helps justify his decision. When asked if he had any regrets, he admitted to one.
“My only regret is that I didn’t get into this industry earlier,” he said. “I wish I had done it 10 years ago, because I absolutely love it.”