It may seem strange to see a chef so accomplished dodging rain drops from the leaky ceiling of his windowless office, but that won’t stop Vinny Bruno from chasing his two passions: cooking and big challenges. In his new position as executive chef of Loyola Dining Services, Bruno has found an abundance of both.

The scope of the task was a major selling point for Bruno.

“I enjoy the challenge of coming here,” he said. “(Vice President and Associate Provost) Cissy Petty has so much hope for the project. I’m excited. I like puzzles.”

Part of that puzzle begins with basics like the organization and training of his staff. Bruno said he envisions working from the ground up, with a focus on smaller details.

Tom Gibbs, history junior, said he saw the differences at the athlete’s convocation dinner, and Matt Wendt, international business junior, said he found more variety in some of the small parts of the day-to-day routine in the Orleans Room this semester.

“There seems to be more attention to detail this year, little things like the bread being better than it has been in the past,” Gibbs said.

According to Bruno, these details are just the beginning. He plans to overhaul the dining system, down to the most basic ingredients.

“Fresh bread, fresh herbs – these ingredients are crucial to creating a better experience for the students,” he said.

Bruno explained his plan to upgrade the way meals are prepared by getting away from the “base” each meal currently starts from. He will replace salt, water and monosodium glutamate, or MSG, with stock to add more natural flavor and make meals healthier, he said.

He expects his renovation to take between one and two years.

“I think that’s a good thing. I get bored easily, and there is so much to do here I won’t get bored.”

DOWN DIFFERENT PATHS

Fifteen years ago, Bruno decided college and a business management degree weren’t for him, so he began working for different pizza shops in New Orleans, cultivating his love for cooking. His big break came at age 23 when he got a job at Commander’s Palace. For five years, he worked his way up from the lowest entry position to management.

The late Jamie Shannon, executive chef at Commander’s during Bruno’s time there, left a great impression on him. He was sous chef under Emeril Lagasse and assumed the top position after Lagasse left. Shannon forced Bruno to work outside his comfort zone, rounding out the young apprentice’s education. Shannon recognized Bruno’s ambition to run his own restaurant and helped him learn how to run a successful kitchen and how to interact with patrons, something for which Bruno said he will be forever grateful.

Four years into his stay at Commander’s, Bruno was fifth in command of a staff of around 40 people, but he knew he had to leave and make it on his own.

Enter the Portobello Cafe in Metairie. Portobello offered Bruno a chance to connect with his patrons, something he is very passionate about.

“I tried to serve as many dishes myself as I could. I really enjoy interacting with people, and we were doing a lot of fun things out there.” The restaurant didn’t have a liquor license, but patrons could bring their own alcohol, so Bruno would help with wine pairings or be there to share his bottle of Jack Daniels with a table and connect over the food.

“Everyone can relate to food. Everyone eats, anyone can make that connection.”

After going through a tough divorce, Bruno spent some time working for a roofing company doing sales, but despite making good money and setting his own hours, he couldn’t shake his desire to get back into the kitchen.

After working as the saute chef at the Bourbon House, Bruno accepted a job at a country club in Hattiesburg, Miss. He said his experience building three restaurants in Hattiesburg will have a big impact on his experience here.

He closed the three restaurants to start them up again from scratch, and he slowly reopened them, one at a time, when he felt they were ready.

In one of the restaurants, Bruno made a special “chef’s table” in the kitchen and prepared meals in front of his patrons.

Bruno remarried while he was in Mississippi, and the day after his wedding, he got a phone call from one of his children. That day he decided he needed to be back in New Orleans with his kids. He left the country club, a job he loved, and packed his life and his new wife up and headed back to New Orleans.

Bruno has big plans for the student dining experience. He gets excited when he talks about his plans for an oyster bar.

“What’s better than beer and oysters on a Friday night? I’d like to offer something exciting students can have on campus.”

In addition to an oyster and mussel bar on Fridays, Bruno wants to keep traditional New Orleans food on Mondays, but add Italian dishes on Wednesdays and country fried, American-style offerings on Thursdays.

The passion that led Bruno to sample everything in the family spice rack as a child is starting to rub off on the Loyola staff. His eyes light up when he talks about staff members learning how to make bread from scratch, about how they are starting to take pride in doing things the right way.

“It will take a while, but we’ll get there. Like football is a game of inches, so is this job, and inch by inch we’re getting closer to where we need to be.”

Matt Manco can be reached at [email protected].