Birds, batter and biscuits
Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management students debut exciting food concepts at The Incubator
August 12, 2026
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If you’re on campus this fall and suddenly feel yourself craving mouthwatering fried chicken and waffles or fluffy, stick to your ribs breakfast biscuits, then The Incubator and Hey Day Market is your go-to place as students with the Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management in the College of Human Sciences are proud to introduce the additions of Bird & Batter and Bodda Biscuit.
As a new fall semester begins on the Plains, these two exciting food concepts showcasing the outstanding culinary creativity of Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management students will debut at The Incubator — a place that serves as a launchpad for future chefs, entrepreneurs and hospitality leaders.
After a highly successful inaugural year of The Incubator that welcomed Sophie Sweets, led by the incredible culinary talent of Sophie Snyder who became the first Auburn University student to have their culinary concept featured in The Incubator. Her concept offered delicious cake cups and personalized cakes delivered to a refrigerated locker that coincided with Pasta Bari — featuring fresh pasta bowls made with customization and true Italian culture in mind.
Now, 2026 brings more fresh ideas and mouthwatering food options to the dynamic, rotating space inside the Hey Day Market.
"The energy and innovation behind Bird & Batter and Bodda Biscuit make me even more excited about the future of this program and the talented students who bring it to life.”
Dr. Martin O’Neill, head of the Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management
“As I reflect on our first year of The Incubator, I'm incredibly proud of what our students accomplished,” said Dr. Martin O’Neill, head of the Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management in the College of Human Sciences. “They embraced the challenges of operating a business, learned valuable lessons from both successes and setbacks and delivered exceptional experiences for our guests. The energy and innovation behind Bird & Batter and Bodda Biscuit make me even more excited about the future of this program and the talented students who bring it to life.”
One of the businesses taking over The Incubator space for the 2026-27 academic year will be the brainchild of senior duo Cayden Peacock and Sophie Salinger who teamed up to launch Bird & Batter, a concept that serves up variations of chicken and waffles with a fun, modern twist with menu options ranging from traditional Southern flavors to Nashville-inspired and Korean-inspired options.
Peacock, who is a hospitality management student focusing on event management with a minor in business, said The Incubator space offers a true opportunity to turn classroom knowledge into real-world experiences.
“I wanted to get involved with The Incubator because it gives me the opportunity to take what I have learned in the classroom and apply it to a real business,” said Peacock. “The Incubator will give me practical experience in nearly every part of running a hospitality business, including menu development, food production, purchasing, budgeting, marketing, customer service, staffing and daily operations. I have always been passionate about food, hospitality and creating memorable experiences for others. As an event management major, The Incubator has challenged me in ways I did not expect.”
“The Incubator will give me practical experience in nearly every part of running a hospitality business, including menu development, food production, purchasing, budgeting, marketing, customer service, staffing and daily operations."
Cayden Peacock, senior hospitality management student focusing on event management
Salinger, her business partner who is a hospitality management student focusing on hotel and restaurant management with minors in business and entrepreneurship, explained the reasoning for bringing the Bird & Batter concept to campus.
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This year, the Incubator at Hey Day Market is featuring a lineup of student entrepreneurs whose menus will include cake cups, breakfast sandwiches and chicken and waffles.
“Growing up, my family traveled to New York City often because most of our family is from Connecticut,” said Salinger. “In NYC, you would be surprised how many places serve chicken and waffles, and it was my thing to try at every restaurant it was served. I always really liked chicken and waffles because of its salty and sweetness. When the applications came around, I thought about the Auburn family, and what was missing in the food hall. As someone who’s out of state, being able to have that ‘first taste of southern culture’ when I walk through the Hey Day Market is an experience I wanted to create for first time Auburn guests.”
And that’s how Bird & Batter was born.
In addition to the classic chick menu option featuring fried chicken and a Belgian waffle with a choice of maple syrup or hot honey, Bird & Batter will offer exciting flavor combinations like the “Hot Chick” and “Seoul Chick” that both students are excited to serve up.
“I am especially excited for guests to try the Seoul Chick, which features Korean barbecue chicken, sesame slaw and a gochujang drizzle,” said Peacock. “I am also excited to introduce our rotating New Chick on the Block, which will give us the opportunity to experiment with seasonal flavors and new ideas.”
“I’m very excited for the ‘Hot Chick’ which is our Nashville hot fried chicken served with pickle slaw. It is to die for and I’m so excited for Auburn to love what we created,” added Salinger.
For those who enjoy grab and go breakfast cuisine, Jack Burke, a senior hospitality management student focusing on culinary science, has got you covered as he unveils Bodda Biscuit — Auburn’s first student Incubator mobile cart that can be found in and around the Tony & Libba Rane Culinary Science Center on weekdays from 7:30-11 a.m. and on game days.
Feeling he’s always had a knack for entrepreneurship, Burke hopes to one day start up a business within the hospitality industry and that’s how he was immediately drawn to The Incubator space.
“I was drawn to the idea of working with professionals who have succeeded in the realm of entrepreneurship and getting to test your ideas and concepts with those professionals,” said Burke.
For Burke, the idea of creating Bodda Biscuits made the most sense in his mind to help best serve the Auburn community and the clientele on campus.
“Breakfast immediately came to mind, and biscuits were next to come to mind,” said Burke. “I’ve always been a huge biscuit fan and even spent much of my COVID pandemic days developing different recipes for biscuits. I am super excited about where we landed with the recipes and the menu, but I am most excited for our specialty biscuits we will be offering on football game days, particularly our house-smoked brisket biscuit with jalapeño pimento cheese.”
Other menu items include the signature Bodda Biscuit, the Bodda Bacon featuring smoked bacon, egg, cheddar and Bodda sauce, the Bodda Sausage featuring breakfast sausage, egg, cheddar and Bodda sauce, the Bodda Bird featuring Bird & Batter fried chicken, hot honey and Bodda sauce and Bodda Bites.
“The Incubator does an incredible job with real-world, hands-on training on the ins and outs and restaurant ownership/management. I love that the program lets you make mistakes, learn from your mistakes and then take those learning moments with you when you graduate so that you can better manage your own establishment later in life.”
Jack Burke, senior hospitality management student focusing on culinary science
Whether customers decide to purchase Bird & Batter fried chicken and waffles or a Bodda Biscuit — or both — the overall goal of The Incubator is to turn student creativity into real-world business ventures.
“The Incubator does an incredible job with real-world, hands-on training on the ins and outs and restaurant ownership/management,” said Burke. “I love that the program lets you make mistakes, learn from your mistakes and then take those learning moments with you when you graduate so that you can better manage your own establishment later in life.”
