You arrived at Danner Hall after your class was done, and you went to the ‘Mustang Bar & Grill’ to grab some grub. The student chef asks what you want, and you place your order. After he’s done, he gives you a piece of paper with your order number. You wait, wait, and wait, looking at the variety of food and snacks the Danner hall has stored, until your food is ready. You grabbed and headed to the cashier to pay for your food. That’s the Mustang Bar and Grill! Located in Danner Hall of San Joaquin Delta College, opened in September of 2025, and founded by culinary professor Andrew Griggs. The Mustang Bar n Grill had become the Agriculture Department’s best and biggest triumph yet. On March 18th (my birthday), I interviewed Mr. Andrew Griggs, the culinary professor of San Joaquin Delta College. 

“It’s instantaneous when he makes something that tastes good, and I deliver it to a customer, I get a reaction right away. And it’s an art. It can be eaten and enjoyed right away,” said Mr. Griggs. 

And he also began to open up a little more about himself. Such as “I used to watch this show on PBS called Yan Can Cook. It was one of my favorite shows. I really like Chinese food. My family would go out and eat Chinese food. That was our special occasion thing. And so Chinese food had become one of my favorite things, and Yan Can Cook was cooking, so I decided to convince my folks to give me a wok and a Chinese cleaver. And the dish that I made from start to finish was beef broccoli, and it was absolutely delicious.”

During the interview. Mr. Griggs explains/elaborate on ‘Why did he want to become a professor in culinary arts at Delta College. How does he feel about becoming one?’ He explains that the reason why he wants to become a professor is that it’s really exciting and fun cuz he gets to work with young people and inspiring chefs to pursue their dreams (as well as long-term goals) and open up restaurants. After all, Stockton needs better restaurants, and there are some good options out there, and there could be a lot more out there, and so just working with people, opening their own business here, and potentially wanna become restaurant owners. It’s really exciting, and the passion is there. They come to school ready to learn and willing to learn. So working with them is exciting.

Today, on April 7th. I managed to get an interview with Mr. Grigg’s students, Thomas Alanzo and Israel Valari. I start the interview with Mr. Alanzo, and the first question that I ask him is: ‘Care to elaborate on why cooking is the most important hobby of your life?’ 

“I wouldn’t say it was my most important hobby, but it is a very fun experience and you also eat amazing food. And I love it.” 

And the second question that I ask him is: “If you grew up and started cooking for the first time in your life, what’s the first dish that you made?” and his response:

“It would always be eggs, it’s just because if you don’t know how to cook an egg, then it’s… it would probably be bad.”  

Tom also began to elaborate on why he wanted to attend the culinary class. He said that he needs to take this class so he can graduate with a certificate, and he’s also a really good teacher/chef as well. And you can really learn a lot from him. And he also elaborated on what it’s like working at the Bar N Grill, he said it’s a bit of both, with one half being chaotic and one half being a nice,e peaceful day. And it all depends on how many customers you get and how many of them would react. It’s like any other job, but with a strict time limit, and if you mess up on the food, that could be a hazard and potentially ruin the business. He also explains how Mr. Griggs taught/teach/lecture his students, He did those at the same time (taught/lectured/teach) because it’s a hands-on class which involves cooking and butchering demos (which means cutting giant pieces of meat such as beef, chicken, pork, or fish) such as filleting fishes or cutting ribs and sirloins, so it’s cool and fun experience. And also, the skills that he learned from Mr. Griggs, especially seasoning food, because when you’re at home, you season with love and whatever you want. But in a restaurant or commercial kitchen, you have to be precise with your seasonings.

After that I also started an interview with Israel Valari, he explains the reason why cooking had become the most important hobby of his life is because he starts off working at a kitchen just to save money for college and he thought he’s going to a four year college to become an engineer, but he grew a fondness of cooking, so he decided to scrap the idea of being an engineer and began his journey of being a cook.

“I started off working in a kitchen, just to save money for college. I thought I was gonna go for four years to become an engineer, but then, I really liked it. I love the food service and love serving people. Serving hungry people and their hunger will never go away. So, everybody has to eat. So, that’s what I’m doing,”

He also added that the first dish that he made when he grew up was salad,s including a Caesar salad (one of my absolute favorite salads of all time):

“I start… Like making salads. So it’s probably a salad like a Caesar salad or something like that…?”

Israel began making salads for the first time in his life (which is now the first step of being a cook), especially a Caesar salad. He also elaborates on why he wanted to attend the culinary class of Andrew Griggs:

“He’s really great… hands-down, the best chef that I worked with, uh, I work a lot… Um… There’s such a great culinary program. I learn a lot and… I need a degree in something… well, that’s pretty much everything.”

And what about the question: ‘What’s life like working in the Bar N Grill’s kitchen? Is it chaotic, or what everyone says: “

“I would say both, uh, because of the chaos and another day in the office. I would say it’s pretty hectic and stressful at the same time.”

After you finish your food, you throw it into the trash and head out to the door of Danner Hall outside, and you begin thinking of the tasty food that they’ve conjured up. So next time or next semester, maybe attending Mr. Griggs’ class would be a good idea.