Donovan Campbell

Hey, new guy, chop this flour for me

People who work in professional kitchens know how to play practical jokes, and they often involve food.

Iowa Memorial Union executive chef Donovan Campbell may seem fairly reserved, but he has quite a resume of gotchas. These days, Campbell has toned down his repertoire a bit, but he doesn’t mind sharing stories from the old days with his daughters.

One of Campbell’s top recollections was a joke played on him. In his native Jamaica, Campbell worked as an ice sculptor at a hotel resort. One day he was called to carve a block of ice set up on a platform in the middle of a pool.

Little did he know, his co-workers had tied a rope to the platform. Every time Campbell raised his arm, someone would tug on the rope and he would have to stop to regain his balance.

Being a hotel resort, part of his job was entertaining the guests. They were entertained all right — at Campbell’s expense. Finally, someone yanked so hard on the rope, Campbell wound up swimming to the delight of the guests.

Not all of his stories are quite as elaborate.

Some pranks are much more routine and simple. In Campbell’s kitchen, he likes to play a few jokes on the new guy.

“Can you go chop this flour,” Campbell explains how it starts out.

Of course, you can’t chop flour, but he has caught many a new person eager to try.

He loves telling the stories almost as much as his daughters love laughing at their dad’s old pranks.

— Brian Morelli

Iowa City Press-Citizen -- March 12, 2009