‘We want to go above and beyond every time’
Dustin Bowman
IU CATERING CHEF DE CUISINE
When Dustin Bowman was growing up in Louisville, the oldest of five kids, his mom taught him to cook simple dishes—spaghetti, stroganoff—so he could take turns making family dinner.
At 14, Dustin got his first restaurant job washing dishes at The Chick Inn in Prospect, Kentucky. He remembers the sizzle of the chicken hitting the lard in the fryer, the “Cheers” vibe of the regular customers, and the twang of the singer who performed Marty Robinson tunes every week.
Washing dishes led to a position as a fry cook, then prep, followed by grill cook at The Chick Inn. It also launched an enduring restaurant career that, in 2023, led Dustin to join Indiana University Bloomington as Chef de Cuisine for IU Catering.
Dustin said that he was brought in to help streamline operations and offer new ideas and insight, but he’s just as interested in learning and receiving feedback. Prior to an IU Catering showcase in early September (2024), he invited chefs from across campus to a tasting featuring several of the dishes and desserts planned for the event. “I embrace change and appreciate constructive feedback,” Dustin said. “I am not controlled by my ego.”
Dustin enjoys international cuisines, particularly Thai and Vietnamese, and likes the challenge of making dishes as authentic as possible. The Kulao Pork and Lomi Lomi Salmon he created for a recent Hawaiian-themed dinner were met with rave reviews.
Before coming to IU, Dustin was executive chef at Lennie’s, where he worked for 18 years. He and IU Catering Guest Services Manager Matt Houghton, a longtime Lennie’s colleague, work closely at IU to make sure every event is a delicious and memorable success—from the initial contact with the sales team to the last crumbs of desert at the event.
“We want to go above every time. Ultimately, clients are making all this possible, and we are honored to be a part of their events.”
Q: What have you learned through this job so far?
A: In the restaurant industry, you can think of every plate as a piece of art. In catering, you’re creating that same art for 100 people. You want it to look good and you want it to be original, but each plate also should be consistent and look the same as the others.
Up until I got here, I never would have thought to sear and bake off an entire beef tenderloin for service. At a restaurant, you’re just not cooking at that scale. I like making and plating that because it looks so good. I’ve picked up various techniques from working with Chef (Tallent, IU’s Executive Chef) which I am very grateful for.
Q: What do you want people to know about your work that they may not know?
A: I put a lot of effort into the work that I do. I like to pay attention to detail. I like things to be very consistent. People sometimes want to take shortcuts—for instance, you can make veggie chili, but if you want it to be beef chili, you can't just add beef. You need to make it differently from the start to get the right flavor.
Q: How do you plan creative menus for a wide customer base?
A: I try not to base things solely off what I like. I have weird food allergies. I can't have walnuts. I'm allergic to white beans, peas, chickpeas … all very common ingredients in soup. I can eat sesame seeds, but I can’t have tahini, which is shelled sesame or hulled sesame seeds, so I can't enjoy any hummus ever.
When we’re planning a menu for an event, we offer options for appetizers, salad, and three or four main dish options. We always include a vegetarian or vegan option (or several, depending on client preference). Sea bass is on somebody's menu next week, which is interesting. It’s important to work around people’s dietary issues, which can lend a nice simplicity to a dish. People think food needs to be complicated, but it can be very simple and still be elegant and extremely appetizing.
Q: Any current plans or projects to share?
A: We worked on restructuring and updating the catering menu to add more options and international flavors—people like choices. I’m working with The Vault right now to put systems in place to make it more streamlined for service, providing a better experience for customers.
Q: What are your favorite IU events?
A: I’m still new to IU, but I really enjoyed the holiday party last year. There was such a wide variety of food and so many options, with a carving station and these beautiful desserts. I thought that was cool. First Thursdays are interesting to me just to see that kind of turnout and the coming together of students, people from all over campus, locals, retirees ...
Q: Outside of work, what are some hobbies or activities that you enjoy doing?
A: I'm an avid live music fan. I travel a lot. If we book vacations, we are going to see music somewhere, almost exclusively. We went out to Berkeley in August, right before school started back up, to go see Billy Strings at the Greek Theater, which was amazing. We’re going to Mexico in January for the Dead Ahead festival, where Sturgill Simpson is going to play a whole set along with some members of the Grateful Dead. I like to exercise and make it to the YMCA at least three times a week; I’m in better shape now than I was 10 years ago! I play guitar. Like to read. We have an enormous vinyl collection. We go to Landlocked in town, record stores in Indy, and anywhere we travel. I have two rescue dogs, a Goldendoodle named Alabama and a Labradoodle we named Richard Parker (after the tiger in The Life of Pi), which require a lot of energy. Two cats, fish tanks, geckos, and tarantulas. We also have A LOT of house plants.
Q: What are your favorite dishes to cook at home and what are your go-to seasonings?
A: For a long time, it was Green Thai Curry, but currently it’s Tika Masala. Recently I’ve been making Jambalaya at home, because it's a good one-pot meal, it's really flavorful, it keeps, and it tends to taste better the next day.
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper are the seasonings I use the most. After that garlic powder, almond powder, and shiitake mushroom powder. We grow rosemary, sage, and basil, all of which can be used for a myriad of dishes.
Q: What advice do you give people who want to do what you do professionally?
A: Pay attention to details. Be efficient and consistent. Be patient with yourself. This is the one thing I say to people: you will mess things up so many times. The only way you're going to learn to make something correctly is if you ruin it no less than five times.
Repetition is how you learn. And even then, there's no perfect world where you're not going to accidentally burn some cookies. At Lennie’s I learned that cheesecakes will continuously rise as long as you’re cooking them. Over 18 years, I blew up and burned at least two dozen, and that’s probably conservative!
Q: What’s the best part of your job at IU?
A: The best part of my job here is the people I get to interact with, from student workers to administrators to the staff members in the building. Restaurant work is more individual, with everyone at their separate stations. I like working as part of a team—it allows us to better prepare for events in advance.
‘The Bear’ Omelet