Meet UCSB s Soup Guys: French-Trained Chefs Spice Creations with Paion

Mickael (left) and Bernard (right) prepare stock for a fish soup.

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The UC Food Observer staff recently visited the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB #gauchos) to learn more about UCSB's efforts around sustainability and the food system. As part of a larger effort, the campus has launched an innovative Food, Nutrition and Basic Skills Program. It provides students with basic cooking skills and information about nutrition. The program also teaches students the essentials of budgeting and meal planning. It's not only designed to teach life skills, but to increase food security. The location? Not a classroom, but a mobile cooking cart.

This program was created in part with funding from the UC Global Food Initiative (GFI), which seeks to address one of the most compelling issues of our time: how to sustainably and nutritiously feed a growing world population. Learn more about the GFI here.

Two of those teaching UCSB students how to cook are chefs who have become campus celebrities: the UCSB Soup Guys. The duo works out of the UCEN (University Center) dining operation. Both are French-trained culinarians. They share a passion for fresh, local ingredients. Their story is extraordinary. So is the work they do for the University of California.

The Soup Guys started out as a single Soup Guy, Mickael Blancho. Mickael was raised in Brittany, France. Recently, he moved up to a position managing the entire kitchen operation. Now there's a new Soup Guy on the campus: Bernard Gayraud. Both men maintain the Soup Guy social presence (Instagram) and have a dedicated following on the campus and beyond.

John Lazarus, assistant director of the University Center dining operation, told us this about the value of the work:

We owe it to our community to do all we can to keep the environment, and the people who are part of that, healthy. That helps UCSB fulfill its core mission of teaching and research. UCEN Dining is proud to be a part of that mission, from expanding the sustainable food offering here at UCSB to being a part of the Food Nutrition and Basic Skills program teaching students how to cook quick, healthy and affordable food.

After walking through the kitchen and chatting with line staff, Teresa and I huddled in a small office to learn more from the Soup Guys about the soup-making operation at UCSB. After that? Lunch at Romaine's, where we conducted field research and ate soup!

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How did classically trained French culinarians become the UCSB Soup Guys?

Mickael: Working for UCSB is a gem. I worked in the restaurant business for more than twenty years before coming to UCSB.

I grew up in Brittany. I trained in an apprenticeship at a restaurant - Le Cabestan - in the north part of Brittany. Then I moved to North Carolina, where I was a sous chef at a seafood bistro. I then moved to Seattle. I also worked on a river barge on the Mississippi. Then I worked in Bear Valley. Finally I came to Santa Barbara. Six years ago I got married and now have a daughter.

Being the Soup Guy means I work mostly during the week. It's a great way to spend time with my family and is also a good fit for my lifestyle and what I want to do. Initially, I was hired with the UCEN dining operation and offered a position as the hot food chef. Once I got here, the management allowed me to use my creativity and said to take it to the level where I enjoy cooking. That's when I became the Soup Guy.

Bernard: I'm from a small town in the south of France, near Toulouse, between Montpelier and where they make a famous cheese - Roquefort. I attended culinary school in Switzerland but worked in Paris. My wife is from the U.S. Twenty-five years ago we decided to come back to the U.S. I started a restaurant in Connecticut. After twenty-five years, we decided to move on. I was looking for a different place to work, California was offering quite a few jobs, including here at UCSB. I had a Skype interview with the director here and he hired me.

You work for the UCEN dining operations. How is it different from the dining commons?

Mickael: The UCEN is a smaller operation. We provide soup for three venues. It's been a progression here, and the UCEN is giving us tools to make growth happen. It's really different than the dining commons. That's a much bigger train to move along. In comparison, the UCEN dining has a pretty free rein, although we also have to keep food costs low and quality and consistency up. We have more interface with faculty, staff and the public. It feels very personal to serve a great product.

Chef Bernard's picture graces a banner at Romaine's restaurant at UCSB's UCEN.

Bernard: As Mickael said, our soups are sold through three venues on campus: Romaine's [in the UCEN], Coral Tree Caf and the Courtyard Caf . We make soups everyday, most from scratch. Mickael buys local product and there we go. We're preparing seasonal soups.

Editor's Note: If you're visiting the UCSB campus or in the Santa Barbara area, you can check out the Soup Guys menu in advance here.

How and where do you source your food?

Mickael: Twenty-five percent of the produce we use in our soups is local and organic. We try to go thirty percent or above, but we're still selling soup inexpensively and organic produce is more expensive. If we use more organic ingredients, the cost will go up and students might not be able to afford our soup. It's a balance.

We use Harvest Santa Barbara for much of our food they were already providing food for the dining commons, so it was easy to leverage the existing agreement. We use Shalhoob - a local meat company - for some of our meat, inclu

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