Cinnamon Rolls and So Much More
I remember waking up to the warm scent of cinnamon wafting through the house while the sugary morning treats finish baking. As I wandered into the kitchen, I would find my mom mixing the frosting in a brown glass bowl. Cinnamon rolls were my favorite treat, and my mom would always make them for me on my birthday. The only thing I regret is not baking them with her. Daniel Eager, the founder, and president of DSU’s cooking and gardening club spent lots of time with his mother in the kitchen. Eager found his love of cooking and baking, working next to his mother. Now Daniel loves to cook fried foods.
Daniel is working on a double major in cyber operations and cyber leadership. This year, he started the cooking and gardening club after being prompted by Tom Halverson, an associate professor in the Beacom college. Daniel’s original idea was cooking but added gardening to expand student interest in the club. Eager never had the passion for gardening as he does with cooking. He used to help his grandfather plant tomatoes, but Eager never found the time to take up gardening.
The club is primarily project-based. They made treats for the Esports Spooktacular event this Halloween. Eager is excited to be catering Nanocon, a major gaming convention hosted by the gaming club. A future project the club is considering is revamping and taking care of the flower beds outside of Beacom Institute. The club has also been talking about a potato project for the day of service in the spring. The project would last all summer. Then for Fall ’22’s day of service, they would dig up the potatoes.
The club still has regular meetings, which are relatively informal. They have presentations on different topics each week after the presentation, the group talks, and networks. The club has over 90 students, and they come from all over campus. Eager says, “there is a wide variety of skill sets in the club.” Eager and his vice presidents, Paige Bennett, and Colton Masloski, are starting with simple principles and will eventually talk about more complex subjects within the cooking and gardening world as the year goes on. The last meeting’s topic was potatoes.
The club meets every Thursday in the science center, room 121. The next meeting will be about starting a project with basil plants and a conversation on carnivorous plants. Eager says, “it is open to all skill levels. You don’t have to know how to cook or garden. That’s what we are here for, to help you learn.” So come with interest and learn a bit!
