Mather House grill chef Philip Wilkins knows exactly what Harvard students want when they order a hot dog...speedy service and a friendly demeanor that would light up the barracks of any dining hall.

“I’m quick,” he says with assurance. “You don’t have to wait for an order for twenty minutes.”

Wearing a blue warm-up jacket with the words “Team Dunster-Mather” embroidered in white, the man known as “Grill Master Phil” takes the number 1 bus from his home in Roxbury to Harvard Square every day, even to pick up his Friday paycheck on his day off.

Wilkins says he comes in because he loves the community of the kitchen and dining hall.

“It’s like being at home, it’s like a family,” he says, later adding, “in this dining hall, there’s always a smile.”

TAKING UP THE FAMILY TRADE

Wilkins, 40, grew up in nearby Roxbury, Mass., the eighth of nine children in a house full of budding cooks.

His father, who passed away about a year ago, was a chef at the Silver Slipper in Roxbury. His mother worked as a nurse’s aide and later as a nanny at the restaurant Stephanie’s on Newbury Street.

His siblings, Debbie and Michael, are both cooks, while other members of the family have gone to serve in the Air Force and the Marines.

The family lived at Academy Homes in Roxbury from 1970 to 1981, and later moved to Mt. Pleasant Avenue, where Wilkins has lived with his mother ever since.

“If I leave home I think I’d be homesick,” Wilkins jokes.

He has been divorced from his wife for more than eight years now and claims, “I think I’d be miserable [if I got married again].”

Turning his twenty-year-old daughter, Chelsea, he reminisces, “She was always with me.” Chelsea now has a one-year-old son and is pursuing her GED at Rosie’s Place in Boston, where one of Wilkins’ sisters is an advocate.

His mother also volunteers at Rosie’s Place and just recently had her second knee replacement.

In his spare time, Wilkins says he works around the house, watches Jerry Springer, sleeps, and volunteers twice a month at the Resurrection Lutheran Church, buying and preparing food.

Compared to his job with HUDS, where he can get called up in case of emergencies, Wilkins says, “that’s the best thing about church people...they don’t [call on me] at the last minute.”

Compared to his job with HUDS, where he can get called up in case of emergencies, Wilkins says, “that’s the best thing about church people...they don’t [call on me] at the last minute.”

THE ROAD TO HARVARD

“I did food service when I went to Boston High,” Wilkins says as he recalls the path of his career.

He first worked in a dining hall at Northeastern University, and then worked in the mail room at the Colbent Corporation for six years, opening letters and ensuring that shares of stock were sent in.

Laid off his job after September 11, Wilkins found work through All Star Staffing, working through the temp agency for three years until he was recommended to Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) last year.

Now permanently a HUDS employee, Wilkins works at the grill from Sunday to Thursday, coming in at one in the afternoon and leaving when the grill closes at 7:15 p.m.

His duties include prepping the food and batch cooking it, noting that his favorite food to prepare is “mostly chicken...I’m a chicken fan...because there are so many choices” with the preparation of the meat.

This summer’s renovation of the Dunster and Mather kitchens will make Grill Master Phil’s life a bit easier.

“I think it’s going to be marvelous...it’ll be a much happier place,” Wilkins says of the construction. “I just can’t wait.”

“We’re getting things we need...we’re getting upgraded,” he adds, mentioning a new char broiler which will enable him to burn diamond shaped grill marks onto the meat.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Wilkins speaks highly of his experience working in Mather.

“Working with HUDS is great for me...there’s never a dull moment,” Wilkins says. Mather students as well say that Wilkins is part of the reason why there is never monotony at the Mather House Grill.

“[He’s] always fun loving, always chatting with the students,” says Arthur Calzontzi ’06.

“He has an aura of awesomeness,” concurs Thomas A. Laakso ’06.

“I’m a lovable person,” Wilkins says puckishly. “I hear a song on the radio, I’m singing.”

But of course, for Wilkins work comes first, and the most important thing is “getting the orders quick.”

“He knows my order every time...fried eggs and hot dogs,” says Ryan “Trini” Abraham ’06.

But it’s all in a day’s work for a man who knows that the “customer is always right” but isn’t afraid to add a smile and a “hello” to any grill order.