George Kaslow, chef at the John Folse Culinary Institute of Nicholls State University, died on Jan. 1, 2015.

In 1990, George Kaslow was offered a position as culinary professor at Nicholls and moved to Thibodaux, Louisiana. He was appointed as associate professor in meat fabrication where he taught students to debone chicken, clean fish and so on. According to John Kozar, department head of the culinary institute, students loved taking his meat fabrication course because he would get on the table and demonstrate the different animal parts they needed to know.

“He was always finding unique ways to teach his students. That’s why everyone loved him so much and looked up to him as a professor,” said Kozar.

Students nominated Kaslow for the Apple Award, an award given to a teacher who influences their students. Kaslow didn’t just help students with school. He also helped them in their everyday lives.

Kozar said, “Students would go to him about money issues and he would always love to help them.”

“One student was recently struggling with off campus problems and Kaslow immediately helped him fix the problem the best way he could.”
George Kaslow also served as an ambassador for Southern Cuisine as part of a culinary exchange program. He traveled to different countries to teach classes on different culinary aspects. Kaslow also co-hosted Cannata’s in the Kitchen on HTV-10 where he helped the host give out different recipes using ingredients from their local grocery stores. In December 2014, Kaslow took a job as assistant manager and consultant at Zen Sushi in Houma, Louisiana. The owner of Zen, Ethan Huynh, said he was a very inspirational and hardworking chef. According to Huynh, Kaslow was always willing to help and be there for his coworkers. Huynh put together a fundraiser benefiting Kaslow’s wife, Sharon, to help her get through this hard time.

George Kaslow was a sixty-year-old resident of Gray, Louisiana, but a native of Bronx, New York. Kaslow retired from Nicholls due to health concerns that kept him from being in the classroom for most of 2014. It is believed that he died due to congestive heart failure, but this has not been confirmed. Landry’s Funeral Home of Thibodaux was in charge of his arrangements. However, Kaslow was buried in Bronx, New York with his father. Kozar and other professors in the culinary institute plan to give Kaslow a memorial service on February 7, 2015 at 11 a.m., in the student union’s ballroom. Students and staff are welcomed to attend to pay their respects and honor Kaslow.