Confessions of Betty Hanlon-Deever

Betty Hanlon-Deever, foodservice director at Pfizer in La Jolla, Calif., would like to eat her mother’s homemade pizza with KC and the Sunshine Band and George Clooney, is a morning person and would be the president of a small country if she weren’t in foodservice.

Q. What is the best part of your job?

Developing the crew and interacting with the colleagues. It's why I get out of bed at 4 a.m. every morning.

Q. What is the worst part of your job?

Sometimes my feet hurt at the end of the day.

Q. What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

The first time I ever entered into a chili cook-off. It was at the International Chili Society Western regionals. Approximately 3,500 people cast their vote for their favorite chili, and out of 75 contestants I took first place for the People’s Choice Award. 

Q. What is the most unusual foodservice/catering request you have ever received?

To cater to 200 Elvis Presley impersonators.

Q. If you weren't in foodservice what would you be doing?

Being the president of a small country.

Q. If you had a time machine what historical event or era would you visit?

Childhood and getting to know my grandparents better and finding out more about their heritages.

Q. Which talent would you most like to have?

To play piano.

Related:Betty Hanlon-Deever: Serving hospitality

Q. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My hair. I don't have bad hair days, I have bad hair life.

Q. Which living person do you most admire?

My sister Jean.

Q. What would be your dream vacation?

Anywhere my husband is because he's always treating me like a princess.

Q. What is your favorite meal?

My mother's homemade pizza crust and sauce, true Italian made with a lot love and a little bit of yelling.

Q. If you could eat dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?

KC and the Sunshine Band and George Clooney, and if we could have my mom’s homemade pizza I would be the happiest woman in the world.

Q. What is your guilty pleasure?

Orange Is the New Black [the TV show].

Q. What will people always find in your refrigerator?

Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Cream coffee creamer. It’s sinfully good, rich and delicious and the only way to start the morning off.

Q. What is your most treasured possession?

The gold cross I inherited from my mother.

Q. What food fad do you wish had never started?

Low or no carb. It was created in 1972, but the Atkins diet didn't captivate America until the late '90s and early 2000s. Devotees claimed weight loss of 15 pounds in the first two weeks. And suddenly everything on grocery store shelves was "low carb," "no carb" and "Atkins approved." The Atkins diet shuns carbohydrates for proteins and fats. During the first phase of the diet, carbs are cut out almost entirely. This means no bread, grains, baked goods, pastas, fruits, nuts or alcohol. Later, "good" carbs like vegetables are slowly added back in. The medical community states the Atkins diet is no more effective than any other diet. The consensus is that weight loss occurs not because of carb cutting but because food intake is restricted. Nevertheless, you'll still find plenty of people eating burgers sans buns. And everyone ended up gaining back everything they lost as they started eating carbs again. This food fad should have never started. 

Q. What activity is at the top of your bucket list?

Whitewater rafting.

Q. What is the weirdest food you have ever eaten?

Chocolate-covered grasshoppers.

Q. Are you a morning or evening person?

Morning.