Student debuts ‘Cooking in College’ DVD
By Kristi Walker
Staff Reporter

Cooking gourmet meals while at school is not something at the top of most college students’ lists of things to do. However, Taylor Kelly, a senior marketing major at TCU, says cooking is a top priority.

Kelly said this is because he, along with business partner and longtime friend, David Spina, have created a 50-minute cooking DVD called “Cooking in College,” which is geared toward preparing cheap, quick and easy meals.

The video demonstrates how to cook American, Italian and Mexican dishes for $5 or less per serving, Kelly said. The recipes are a collection of family and popular recipes that take five to 10 minutes of preparation plus cooking time, he said.

Kelly said the idea came about when he and Spina realized how little college students know about cooking. Kelly said they decided to create a video geared toward college students who are living on a budget and want to eat healthy meals. The idea for the nine-meal DVD developed from there, he said.

“We wanted to do something our generation would like,” Kelly said. “That is why we did it on a DVD with music, instead of a cookbook.”

Kelly said he cooked little and went out to eat more at the start of his college days. The unhealthy and expensive lifestyle helped turn him on to the idea of cooking healthy meals for himself, Kelly said.

“I cooked grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and the ‘necessities’ at first, and I ate out a lot,” Kelly said. “Then, I realized that I couldn’t afford to eat out at restaurants all the time.”

Kelly said it is simple cooking for those who do not know how to cook. He said he, himself, did not learn to cook until recently.

“When I grew up, Thanksgiving involved my mom and sisters cooking while my dad and I watched football,” Kelly said.

Although Kelly admits he occasionally helped in the kitchen with Thanksgiving stuffing and setting the table, he said he did not do much in the kitchen growing up in Southlake.

Debbie Kelly, his mother, said she was surprised when her son and his friend presented the video idea to her.

“Like most college students, he realized that it is not as easy when mom isn’t cooking homecooked and healthy meals for you,” she said.

Now, Taylor Kelly said he is looking toward his May graduation from TCU and is busy with Spina selling the remainder of their 10,000 copies of the video, writing a 100-recipe “Cooking in College” cookbook, planning a second video and trying to land guest appearances on the “The Tonight Show” or “Oprah.”

With 1,500 of the copies sold, Kelly said he plans to use his marketing degree and make “Cooking in College” a full-time job for the first year after graduation.

Kelly said he and Spina have accumulated an $80,000 debt to family and friend investors as well as credit lines. Half of that money is to be paid back as they sell the tapes, but the remainder will be paid back as soon as possible, he said.

Kelly said he plans to sell to upcoming college freshmen and their parents. He said the goal is to make the video a “must have” for those students leaving the comfort of home cooking for the first time.