Many Saint Louis University students know Drew Strother as the stir-fry guy or the man who works to put a smile on everyone’s face at Terra Ve. Strother, however, describes himself as “a happy person, a fun person-very, very serious at times, but I like to have fun, and I like food a lot.”

Strother is a St. Louis native who appreciates the various opportunities that the city has to offer. On Saturdays, he enjoys going to places such as Laclede’s Landing and the Delmar Loop in University City, where he can “listen to the bongo players and meet a lot of different people.”

Besides exploring the city, Strother enjoys cooking. He barbecues on the Fourth of July and Labor Day, which led his niece to christen him “Chef a la Drew.”

Strother lets his family cook for him on Christmas and Thanksgiving, however; on these days, he “just [sits] around and [watches] TV.”

This is Strother’s first year working at SLU.

He previously worked on a Channel 4 cooking show and at Lambert Airport.

Comparing Lambert to SLU, Strother said, “The people [there] just aren’t as much fun as the kids.”

At SLU, Strother likes to joke with the students and enjoys “making everybody laugh, watching them laugh and act[ing] crazy.”

There are a few things that Strother finds particularly interesting about SLU students in Terra Ve.

“I like to mess with them … when they hang around the salad bar for so long. I have to ask them, ‘What’s going on at the salad bar that’s keeping you so long?'” Strother said.

Strother said that he would like to win the lottery, and his main ambition is to open up his own restaurant.

“A lot of people say they know how to cook, but they don’t,” Strother said. He would like to “have people come in [to the restaurant], like a class.”

Strother expressed his curiosity about the statues on SLU’s campus.

“I was thinking if they had made them … funnier, they probably would’ve been more interesting,” Strother said.

He thinks decorating the statues would be fun.

“If I walk past one on Halloween or Christmas, I’m gonna put a bow around its neck.”

Pointing in the direction of the Clock Tower, Strother said with a grin, “That little girl sitting down over there, watch, they won’t know who did it.”

Strother advises students to take a break and visit Terra Ve.

“Don’t let the professors make your day hard; they’re just trying to prepare you for the world. Keep coming in and keep having fun,” Strother said.