The newest addition to Wash. U.’s beloved Ibby’s is Chef Wil Fernandez-Cruz, an unusually talented, humble and passionate man. Fernandez-Cruz moved from New York City to St. Louis (his wife’s hometown) to work at The Restaurant at The Cheshire. Just recently, Fernandez-Cruz resigned from his position at The Restaurant and brought his skills to Wash. U., and though he has spent just a little more than two weeks working on campus, Fernandez-Cruz says he is already very excited to begin his work at Ibby’s, especially with regard to its recent sustainability efforts.

Working at Wash. U. was certainly not Fernandez-Cruz’s original plan. Back in college, he went to medical school and worked in his family’s restaurants on the side. Working as everything from a dishwasher to a pizza maker to a waiter, Fernandez-Cruz gained an appreciation for food at a very young age. When he grew older, Fernandez-Cruz moved to New York and began to cook in restaurants while still attending medical school at the same time, but eventually realized he could not swing both careers. “New York was too expensive, so I decided to go in one direction,” said Fernandez-Cruz. He chose the art of food.

Fernandez-Cruz puts a large emphasis on having fresh, healthy and local ingredients in the dishes he prepares. “We are allowed to use small farmers’ products and work closely with the co-ops used from farm to table,” Fernandez-Cruz said, “That’s what I’ve been doing for a long time. Plus the talents we have in the kitchen are an outstanding culinary team.”

Fernandez-Cruz hopes to bring his culinary innovation to Ibby’s, which will educate Wash. U.’s students just as their curricula do. “A dining experience is where you learn the food. We have different types of food for different terms that different people are not familiar with,” Fernandez-Cruz said, “That’s the point. Food is a development and dining is a learning process.” In the future, students can expect to see healthier options on the menu and, in spring, fresh ingredients that will give dishes a “lighter” feeling.

The chef encourages students to come to Ibby’s more often so that they can see the changes in the meals offered. “We start making changes next week. We have specials every day based on the season,” he said. So far the responses from students and faculty have been friendly and the feedback positive. Fernandez-Cruz hopes to continue to foster this relationship so that students can one day get as much out of the food as he does. “I like to reflect my personality in the food,” he said. “There’s always something to tell about the dish that I make—where the ingredients are coming from, why different ingredients work well together, things like that. I hope that we nail this with the students. I want them to be hungry but at the same time learn about the food. I’m very excited—Wash. U. has a beautiful program here.”