Here on Afterword we’ll be featuring regular interviews with UVM campus personalities, professors and administrators. First up is Charlie Cunningham, otherwise known as the Falafel guy at the Davis Center.
![Charlie_Interv](https://i0.wp.com/blog.uvm.edu/afterword/files/2015/06/Charlie_Interv.jpg?resize=584%2C412)
Last Thursday we were lucky enough to hang out and eat lunch with Charlie at the Davis center. He artfully prepared falafels while we asked him a few questions.
Derrick & Ryan: How long have you worked at UVM?
Charlie: I Started in 2001 over in the Simpson dining hall bakery. Eventually moved over to the Marche and now I’m here at the Davis Center.
D&R: What do you love about working at UVM?
C: I get to make a positive impact on student’s lives through something I really love to do and it places me where I can advocate for my own lifestyle. It’s also awesome to interact with students.
D&R: How did you get your start in falafel making?
C: I got going when I was on a Grateful Dead tour in the eighties. Immediately I was hooked! I started selling them out of my van at every show. My recipes are inspired by an old restaurant in Vermont called Horn of the Moon.
![grateful dead van](https://i0.wp.com/blog.uvm.edu/afterword/files/2015/06/grateful-dead-van.jpg?resize=500%2C337)
D&R: What was your first concert?
C: I caught a ride with UVM ride share to Hartford Connecticut for…yes…a Grateful Dead show, when I was still in high school.
D&R: Where did you grow up?
C: I was born right here in Burlington. Grew up in the area, and went to school (K-12) in Essex Junction. Now I live in Jeffersonville.
D&R: What keeps you in Vermont?
C: I’m not much of a city guy. There’s something about the open air and rural landscape here…you can’t beat it.
![Old Mill thru trees](https://i0.wp.com/blog.uvm.edu/afterword/files/2015/06/Old-Mill-thru-trees.jpg?resize=500%2C375)
D&R: What’s your summer like?
C: I work at Common Ground summer camp in Starksboro Vermont in the bakery. Someday I would love to start my own bakery. I’ve had an idea for a while now to call it Working Man’s Bread.
D&R: As a dedicated Grateful Dead follower, are you a fan of Phish?
C: Kind of. To be honest, when I first saw them, I thought they sucked [laughs], and I mean that was because they were just starting out. Like any band, they had growing to do. I saw them at Slade Hall. The band members and I are basically the same age so I’d see them around town. It’s great that they’ve become such a good band. I even dated the same woman Jon Fishman did back in the day. At separate times, of course.
D&R: Do you have any other favorite bands?
C: I really love Neil Young and Steely Dan.
D&R: Who’s your celebrity crush?
C: Christopher Walken! And for local celebs, I’d say Rally Cat. I always thought it’d be fun for us to get into a tussle right on campus. I think I could take him. He used to be named Charlie, so it seemed like a good idea that we square off.
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D&R: If you could be one building on campus, what would you be?
C: Definitely Slade Hall.
Want to be part of the conversation? Send us an email if there’s someone you’d like us to feature: rchartie@uvm.edu and derrick.dubois@uvm.edu.
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