HISTORY OF THE CAVALIER COOKERS
Cavalier Cookers has been a proud tradition for decades, founded by members of the Sigma Nu Zeta Chi Chapter at the University of Houston. Over the years, many brothers have taken the lead in keeping the legacy alive, including Pat Brown, Jeremy Patrick, and Gene Young.The founding members chose the name Cavalier Cookers to honor the original brothers of the Zeta Chi Chapter. Before officially chartering at UH, they called themselves the Cavalier Drinking Club—a name that lives on through this time-honored tradition.Since its inception, the Cavalier Cookers tent has won every possible award and welcomed more than 10,000 guests over the last 28 years. True to tradition, Cavalier Cookers will be back at Frontier Fiesta 2025, growing bigger and better each year. We are excited to announce that this year, we will proudly present the second annual Gene Young Memorial Scholarship to an active member of Sigma Nu at the University of Houston.Gene Young was known as the life of the party—always ready for a good time, yet never one to shy away from hard work. A Fall 1997 pledge, he later served as Housing Manager and always took pride in wearing the black and gold of Sigma Nu and the red and white of UH. After earning his Finance degree in 2000, Gene married his high school sweetheart and became a Sergeant in the Houston Police Department before his passing in 2020. Those who knew him best will always remember his passion for cooking with his brothers—so much so that in the early years, he and his brothers slept in a U-Haul and took shifts cooking the meat. He continued his annual Frontier Fiesta tradition for 19 consecutive years.Now, Brother Vinnie Meza, President of the Sigma Nu Alumni Association, has taken the reins and is leading the charge in making Frontier Fiesta – Sigma Nu bigger and better than ever. Cavalier Cookers is honored to continue this tradition in memory of our brother Gene Young, celebrating his legacy and the lifelong bonds of our brotherhood.
