FOOD EDUCATION IS JUST LIKE ONE BIG MARDI GRAS !

I have worked well over a decade in the education sector and I it has been a blast! Well most of the time, but seriously there is so much to learn when it comes to preparing meals for students. Now I strongly back the first lady, Michelle Obama, on her national campaign on fighting childhood obesity. I have worked in the food industry well over twenty-five years and we must all work together in the food industry public and private, to cultivate good eating habits in adolescents as early as pre-school age. So in my opinion, educating them about nutrition is key. I feel there is starts with introducing classes on food and nutrition and health science which should always be taught in schools. Also, our industry needs to ensure that we create affordable healthy snacks that are geared to attract students to make the right food choices. I have worked tirelessly for many years creating recipes and a variety of menu choices for the educational sector that were not only healthy and visually appealing but tasty too! Currently, there has been some exciting positive changes in college campus dining and that is to move away for fast foods and offer a variety of healthy choices and organic dishes that are reasonably priced! Also, there is a social movement in the industry in which I coined "food conscious and allergy awareness". We now take in account when creating recipes and preparing weekly menus to ensure their are alternative food choices for students who are lactose intolerant or those who have severe allergies towards nuts. There is now a big demand for gluten free products. We are making a serious effort to create dishes that use ingredients that are not only absent of certain elements like gluten but realize wheat as a major allergy and create wheat free items. We also, clearly label the ingredients in each of our dishes. And we go as far separating serving stations so there is no cross contamination of allergy free food. We make a conservative effort to address almost every common dietary need from offering sugar free products, vegetarian dishes and low fat items. We encourage feedback from the students and faculty at our campus site. We also provide surveys and we are fortunate to have met a great deal of their concerns and needs. I encourage the public and private K-12 to consider this approach. Open dialogue with the students on their likes and dislikes involving them in the process is a fresh approach to the outdated systems. Allowing student options and feedback gives them an opportunity to be a part of the solution and not the problem. It maybe used as a learning tool to educate children on the importance of nutrition and foods that can taste just as good as their high fat counterparts in the the process. There are so many ways to change the current system and make permanent lasting positive changes. I have personally created affordable easy recipes to utilize in high volume cooking and at the same time I kept  the cost down. I simply found ways to enhance a menu by creating a new entree using the same ingredients and periodically alternating our food selections for variety. There are certain techniques on purchasing products that can be very cost effective. All these issues can and should be addressed in the educational sector and now is the time to implement change! So this leads me to my next subject, which is to intergrate ideas and create a new way of introducing different types of food to the students.

So who doesn't want an occasional party? Well ask almost any college student and they will say it's always time for a Mardi Gras! I truly enjoy working these functions. This particular event was an open house for students and their parents. I love working on festivals or traditional celebrations as a wonderful way to introduce ethnic foods and in the process learn a little about the culture in the process. Now as far as this event was concerned, my responsibility was primarily to ensure there was enough food to feed all of our guests and at the same time contain cost. I was also indirectly involved in menu selections. We had an array of food like jambalaya, chicken Creole, red beans and rice. There were also, decorative party items like colorful beads, hats and street signs and light polls!

Well, Mardi Gras is over but the party to educate goes on. In my next blog I will address what makes a recipe unique?


Signing off for now,

 Chef Sam,

PS : Wishing my mother-in-law a wonderful 80th birthday this February 26th ! And to my dad on the 28th ! Happy birthday Dad who turned 74 years young today ..Buon Compleanno!!