A new chef, David Princic, was hired at Wayne State College this semester.  

After 30 years of experience in the food industry, WSC welcomes Princic. Princic has been given many opportunities to create and update menus throughout his significant experience in the field, allowing him to get creative and use ingredients he might not typically use.  

“My favorite ones are the ones where I get to work backward; where I have a finished produced in mind,” Princic said.  

He focuses on the end goal, and always keeps the finished product in mind, to ensure the product is crafted to its full potential.  

Before coming to Wayne, he worked as a traveling chef for two years with the company College Fresh, contracting with fraternities and sorority houses across the country. After a while though, the traveling started to take a toll on both Princic and his family, as he was always on the move. 

“The traveling was starting to put too much of a strain on my marriage and family, so I finished out last semester with that company,” Princic said. “Dordt University and Wayne were both looking for an executive chef, and I liked the vibe here a lot more.”  

 Princic decided it was time to put an end to that chapter and find a new job. He finished out with the traveling company and saw that WSC was looking to hire a chef. After being attracted to the vibe of Wayne’s campus and community, he decided to apply and sure enough, was given the job.  

Having so many years of experience before coming to Wayne, Mary French, director of dining services, knew that Princic would be a positive addition to the dining staff.  

“Chef David has a passion for food and cooking; couple that with the respect he shows for our associates, their dedication and the work they put in every day and it’s apparent that he’s a great addition to our team,” French said. “I look forward to seeing him showcase his talents for Wayne State Dining!” 

In addition, Princic hopes to bring more energy to the work environment on campus. His positive energy will come out in the food. Cooking philosophies are developed by chefs, depending on what their beliefs are for preparing and cooking meals for others to enjoy. Princic has his own cooking philosophy he lives by, which makes his work even more enjoyable. 

“Food is magic,” Princic said. “It does have the power to bring so many good feelings. It can remind you of happy times. It can heal.” 

When asked if Princic could cook only one meal for the rest of his life, he makes an excellent point.  

“That’s a really tough question because right now it would probably be roast, because it’s that time of the year,” Princic said. “But if you ask me in a few months, it would be salads or kabobs. It’s one of my favorite things about cooking, there’s so much there.”  

Princic’s passion for cooking stems from always wanting to learn something new. This area of expertise is broad, and there are always new ingredients to experiment with or recipes waiting to be tested. This is what he enjoys most about cooking, simply the fact that there is always more to learn. The learning and experimenting in cooking never ends. On the contrary, out of everything that comes with cooking, Princic dislikes the budgeting and financial aspects the most. In his ideal world, there would be no budgeting, only having an endless amount of supplies.  

For the short amount of time that he’s been working at Wayne’s dining services, Princic is already enjoying it. He spends most of his time working in the upper cafeteria but occasionally lends a hand in the lower cafeteria as he’s still trying to learn the process of how the dining system works. 

In his early years, Princic was interested in cooking, but doesn’t recall being very good at it.  

“One of my earliest memories is trying to make my parents breakfast in bed and ruining it to the point where the dogs wouldn’t eat the pancakes,” Princic said.  

Princic took this interest in cooking as a child and turned it into a career later on in life, which has allowed him to live a satisfying life so far, being able to do what he loves.