‘Good Morning America’ invites Joliet Junior College teacher to share Thanksgiving tips

A Joliet Junior College alumnus and staff member will appear live on “Good Morning America” on Thanksgiving Day.

Javier Reyes, purchasing specialist and adjunct instructor in the culinary arts department at Joliet Junior College, is part of a partnership between Butterball and the social media app Bumble’s new friend-finding app Bumble for Friends.

[ JJC culinary purchasing specialist ‘talking turkey’ to callers this holiday season ]

“People who don’t have places to go for Thanksgiving, who’ve moved far away from families or aren’t planning Thanksgiving with their own families, can reach out for friends and have some gatherings this holiday.”

—  Javier Reyes, purchasing specialist and adjunct instructor in the culinary arts department at Joliet Junior Colleg

The goal of the partnership and #FindYourTable endeavor is to help connect people for “Friendsgiving” over this Thanksgiving holiday, Michael McGreal, Joliet Junior College culinary arts department chairman, said in an email.

“I am so proud of Javier,” McGreal said in the email. “He is such a talented culinary professional, an incredible alum of the culinary arts management department, and just a wonderful person overall. Our industry is all about hospitality, giving back, and helping others, and Javier demonstrates those values on a daily basis.”

[ JJC culinary purchasing specialist ‘talking turkey’ to callers this holiday season ]

The #FindYourTable endeavor includes co-hosted live and virtual events and online tools and resources, McGreal said. Reyes was also flown to New York in early November to participate in video shoots.

“It’s been a pretty wild couple of weeks,” Reyes said. “We did a demo on how to cook turkey from start to finish. Other social media influencers showed people how to make different side dishes.”

Other instructional material included tips on reaching out to new people and prudent ways to meet, he said.

“They are trying to help people reach out to others with common interests and give them a social media app to use so they can safely meet other people,” Reyes said.

Butterball Turkey Talk-Line experts then help dinner hosts plan and serve meals that feel personally authentic to them, McGreal said. Reyes has served as a Butterball Turkey Talk-Line expert since 2021.

Reyes said training for each year’s talk-line begins in October. The talk-line continues through Dec. 23; Reyes works until the day after Thanksgiving, he said. Talk-line experts include chefs, teachers and registered dietitians.

“Mostly we help them by reducing the level of stress of cooking on the big day, so they have more time with their families to enjoy the gathering,” Reyes said.

Last year, Reyes also did some media appearances as a Butterball Turkey Talk-Line expert, which prepared him for the #FindYourTable endeavor, which he loves.

“People who don’t have places to go for Thanksgiving, who’ve moved far away from families or aren’t planning Thanksgiving with their own families, can reach out for friends and have some gatherings this holiday,” Reyes said.

When Reyes appears on “Good Morning America” on Thanksgiving Day, he and another talk-line expert will answer cooking questions and provide reassurance, he said.

“We’ll let people know that if they need help with their turkey, especially on their busiest day, we’ll be there for them,” Reyes said.

Reyes’ JJC duties including purchasing food for the culinary arts department and also serving as a faculty adviser and “general troubleshooter,” Reyes said.

As an adjunct professor, Reyes also teaches a purchasing class and a Microsoft Office class.

Reyes previously was a computer systems engineer in Mexico; he also taught ESL classes, computer programming and worked for his father’s business, Reyes said.

His father’s family lived in Joliet, so Reyes had visited Joliet before attending Joliet Junior College to study culinary, his passion, he said.

“I got into clubs and activities here,” Reyes said. “And on graduation day, I was lucky enough to be a student speaker.”

After graduating in 2015, Reyes worked part-time in purchasing on JJC’s main campus and transitioned to full-time in 2017, he said. Reyes can’t imagine working any place else.

“I love the people here,” Reyes said. “It’s a great place.”

Butterball Turkey Talk-Line’s 3 most common questions

Reyes said he hears these three questions most often when people call the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line.

• “I pulled out my turkey and it’s not thawed enough. What can I do to make it thaw faster so I’ll be able to cook it?”

• “How do I make sure my turkey is fully cooked?”

• “Is my turkey too far gone or still safe to eat?”

Reyes said the talk-line experts serve as food detectives, asking questions to help find the answers.

“Just about every problem has a solution,” Reyes said. “But our focus is food safety, too.”

Talk turkey

Call 1-800-BUTTERBALL or text 844-877-3456 to chat with Butterball turkey experts.

Visit butterball.com/how-to and bumble.com/bff/friendship/butterball-friendsgiving.