School lunch ladies going "gourmet"
School lunch ladies going "gourmet"
They still wear sensible shoes, but the nation's lunch ladies are trading in their hair nets for chef toques as they undergo a gourmet makeover.
With the childhood obesity rates creating demand for healthier foods in schools, more attention is being placed on the culinary skills of those charged with preparing it. What good are fresh local produce and grass-fed beef, for example, if the lunchroom employees know how to make only canned vegetables and frozen fish sticks?
Cordova and about 40 other Denver lunch ladies spent three weeks mastering knife skills, baking and chopping fruits and vegetables for some of the school district's first salad bars. Denver is among countless school systems in at least 24 states working to revive proper cooking techniques in its food service staff.
The city issued its 600 or so cafeteria employees white chefs' coats and hats and plans to have all its kitchen staff trained in basic knife skills within three years. Well-known area chefs visit for primers on food safety, chopping technique and making healthy food more appetizing to young diners (hint: kids prefer veggies cut into funky shapes, not boring carrot sticks).
It's serious work. School cafeterias are the front line in an effort to reduce childhood obesity as public health officials warn that nearly a third of American children and teens are now considered obese or overweight. First Lady Michelle Obama started a "Chefs Move to Schools" program in June to highlight the need for better cooks in schools, and she is urging Congress to pass legislation that calls for higher nutritional standards for school meals.
The Child Nutrition Bill would require more fruits, vegetables and whole grains and less fat and salt in school lunches and breakfasts, Obama wrote in an essay in Monday's edition of The Washington Post.
At the Denver boot camp, lunch ladies were urged to steam or blanch their vegetables in smaller batches, even in the middle of a lunch period, so that cooked vegetables go "crate to kid" in 30 minutes or less. Instructor Beth Schwisow told the ladies that every batch of their vegetables is auditioning for a kid's plate, so it's crucial the veggies taste and look good. Schwisow looked slowly around the room and dropped her voice.
Chefs say that schools embraced processed food so completely that many newer cafeterias lack the basics of a production kitchen, such as produce sinks, oven hoods or enough cold storage to keep meat and produce fresh.
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- Posted on August 2, 2010
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It's sweet that they're taking the effort to make healthier meals for their students. I like the idea that they show how much they care about their students health.
It's good to know that the schools, and staff, are making an effort to serve healthier foods. A lot of schools sell only pizza and other junk foods and I'm glad that at least some kids are getting locally healthy food and I think it would taste more better than the food the school get from the distract. who knows where that food came from. it would also be better for the environment conservering our carbon footprint by this school making locally healthy foods there saving the factories from releasing at lot of CO2 in to the air that we breath. The entire purpose of me buying lunch was to provide me with hot food, not junk food what are you actually paying $2.50 for food that can make us obese. every day! I wish that every school would start making this change, so that kids could enjoy a meal not only hot but also healthy foods. Let's do it. (:
This is a good idea. Why not do that in our school. Healthy foods and new ideas. why not a salad bar for cheap. If it works w are looking at a better world.
I think we should not take away the Hot Dogs, Cheseburgers, Fried Chicken, and others. They should make them go together. Besides sometimes we should get the food we want.
That's very good to make kids eat more veggies than patties and wieners. They should invite a healthy chef to my school i could use more beets than meats.
This is an awesome idea. I don't eat lunch at school because it is nasty. If we had better, healthier options, maybe I would eat lunch on a regular basis.
PEOPLE seriously?! We dont need our lunch ladies wearing bebe shirts, coach flip flops, dior perfume!! what is the world coming to if we are trying to change the way our lunch ladies dress? we should be thankful to these ladies for making us food, as long as the foods good
i could care less if there wearing 10 year old jeans and hair nets!
the summary says that the lunch ladies are being transformed into chefs and that they are changing school menus into healthier things like whole grain and veggies.
"At the Denver boot camp, lunch ladies were urged to steam or blanch their vegetables"
in my opinion, i would rather eat a salad over steamed veggies. a salad with light or fat free dressing is still healthy and tastes good.
Coming from one of the many American teens that are considered obese, i must say that i love the fatty school lunch, i love tater tots and french fries and anything greasy like most people my age.
however, i do think that making the lunch menu healthy is a great idea, it is good that kids get the proper nutrition especially those in elementry and middle school because they are growing and developing.
It's good to know that the schools, and staff, are making an effort to serve healthier foods. A lot of schools sell only pizza and other unhealthy junk, and I'm glad that at least some kids are getting the whole balance of grain, protein, veggies, fruits, dairy, and vitamins. I bring my lunch every day and my mom and I work out a whole menu. I get really gourmet stuff: waffles, bacon, scones, sloppy joe, rice, tacos, pasta and the whole works! However, it's pretty cold by the time I sit down and start eating. The entire purpose of me buying lunch was to provide me with hot food, not pizza every day! I wish that every school would start making this change, so that kids could enjoy a meal not only hot but also healthy.
I think that the lunch ladies in my school should go gourmet. Sometimes we don't have trays for breakfast, and our lunch is cold and hard. I also agree that it is a good idea to have more nutritional meals.