Pacific Index

Dahli Powell joins the Pacific Dining team as the new catering manager

For the first time in many years, Pacific University welcomes a new catering manager: Dahli Powell. Though she isn’t the person who directly cooks what goes on our plates, it is safe to say that with her involvement in menu development and overseeing of catering operations, there will be a change in UC cuisine. 

“I’ve been a private chef. I’ve been an instructor, I’ve been a manager, managing a coffee house in Hillsboro… Those jobs kind of led me to meet a lot of very interesting people,” says Powell, noting that through her work she has had involvement with many celebrities. “Actually, I’ve been a private chef with the Trail Blazers,” she mentions, going on to boast of her catering involvement with the secret service for Obama. With such accolades, Pacific is surely in good hands.

Prior to joining the Pacific dining services team, Powell worked in Portland making vegan foods. “I was invited to take over a vegan pop-up at a brewery in Portland and I had no prior vegan experience,” she shared. While she was not as well acquainted with vegan fare preceding her job in Portland, she became a quick learner. “I was known for my vegan pokey and flatbreads…It’s just experiments,” Powell explains. “So I just kind of really played a lot in the kitchen,” While she is not going to be doing any of the food prep for Pacific, she has a deep love for the art of cooking which has paid off well for her. 

“I love gardening. I actually love harvesting herbs and making tinctures and teas,” she shares, talking about her passion for making at home remedies from what she’s harvested. Powell says that her kitchen looks like a lab, especially because she loves to experiment with her cooking. She jokes that, “People usually don’t think about all of the leaves. I think, like, look at all this tea!” While she loves to cook in her spare time, she also has a pet pig named Moo Shu, who keeps her company as she gardens.

When asked how the job is going, Powell mentions that she is only embarking on her third week. But Powell shares her enthusiasm for joining the team, stating that, “I’m always excited about helping to elevate the whole catering experience at Pacific.”