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Freshness,The first Criterion

  1. Last of The Commodity Entitlement for this year

    April 22, 2013 by Chef Danny

    I was surprised when the second week of April came and  we got a huge commodity order. I really thought I had gotten the last of it for this year.  I have made the final menus with these products in mind. You will notice in the May Menu I am only making two weeks of set food items. The last two weeks will be chef’s choice. This gives all the kitchens a chance to use up any thing they have in the freezer and dry store so when we are finished for the year we’re at a minimal.

    As for the commodity for next year . I made my order for next year .Everything I ordered was either in the raw state or fresh. Next year we will start the food service program 100% me and my cooks. I will have all control of what we feed our kids.

    This was successful but there was always that commodity from the past hanging over our heads. I want to also really concentrate on breakfast and get all our children fed before class. This is vitally important for a successful morning of learning. I cant do this alone and will need the help of teachers , admin along with the food-service to get this done with sustainability

    So , thanks for being patient with us and I really appreciate the compliments I get whenI see people out and about. We are accomplishing our goals and objectives.

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  2. Free and Reduced Applications

    April 16, 2013 by Chef Danny

    I have written about this in the past and will do so in the future because its that important.  I have been working on and emailing the Free and Reduced Applications (FRA) to all the schools and personal that will play a big roll in registration for next year. We cant open the FRA’s to the families of our students until July 19.

    With the change of venue and way we prepare food FRA’s really , really benitfit our kids. If you have ever thought about using this program I strongly suggest you fill out the form. Its a one page form that only I as the Food service authority see’s. I than input the information into a CDE program and they make a decision whether your children are eligible for Free meals or Reduced meals. The reduced price is $.40. If you think about what goes into a typicle lunch tray for .40 its simply the best deal in the country for our kids. You’ve seen pictures of lunch trays on this web blog throughout the year and I can tell you there is no more professional cooking standards used or love put into those standards then in our district.

    The forms are laid out very simply with  only 4 areas to fill out. I can help you and all it will take is phone call to me .As we get closer to next year I hope to get as many of our kids in this program as possible. Its so important to know the kids are getting a nutritious meal while they are in school. FRA’s also help our county and district into more benefits for the students. I encourage everyone to spread the news that this food program is worth the time for our kids so please fill out the form and if you need help give me a call.

    Chef Danny Quinto 530-5433

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  3. Everyone likes Spagetti Day

    April 10, 2013 by Chef Danny

    Mr. Kyle Knickerbocker goes through the lunch line at The High school with a  tray of Spagetti and  meatballs , Lemon green beans and WW  Baugette on his way to the salad and fruit bar.

    Spagetti is a favorite day for lunch at Salida Schools. 

     

     

     

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  4. Good Rookie Year

    April 9, 2013 by Chef Danny

    April 2013 Calendar

    It has been a good rookie year for me. Adjusting from the private /hotel sector to a school setting kept me up  some nights but for the most part it went well. The food service team really helped me out and kept our students fed using the best ingrediants we could afford.

     One of the biggest concerns I heard was the portions size. I agree that the federal government has cut the portions back a little to much but if we can offer goodness in fresh fruits, produce and salads the student should take advantage of this. And, they do. I am impressed with the trays of food I see come through the lunch line. We are in our second part of a two year program that will get our foodservice to the culinary level I have envisioned. Im really proud of the team, everyone is really trying to feed our kids better. As long as the will is in place we will get the job accomplished and the end result will be better food for the student body and staff.

    Cool Letter from CDE!!!!!

     

    Danny: 

     

    Jane Brand has asked me to contact you regarding a presentation she will be making at the 2013 Healthy School Summit on April 17, 2013.  Jane will be using some of the information and slides you presented in your power point presentation at the 2013 Directors’ Conference.  She wants to highlight your district, and specifically your multiple uses of the USDA recipe for 51% whole grain bread, your pizza, and your pumpkin soufflé (where you are teaching new skills to your cook staff.)  If you could provide Jane with talking points, historical information, etc.  from your presentation, she would like to incorporate these into her presentation. Jane is the director of the CDE office of School Nutrtion.

     This is a great honor to be used as an example . 34 schools recieved some of this grant money for a healthier way of feeding our kids and a better lifstyle. Salida is  the example out of the 34 schools . We have all worked hard to change the way we think and it is proving we are making a differance. In the end the ones who benefit the most are our students and the healthy future that lays ahead .

     

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  5. Tasting

    March 13, 2013 by Chef Danny

     

                                                                      Tasting

     

    You start the year with great expectations. Visions of what will be dance in a chefs head. Student’s trays overflow with greens, reds, orange and many other colorful vegetables. The open canvas idea is given to each kitchen, using the salad bar to create special presentations each day. At the main kitchen in the high school we will concentrate on the center of the plate and hot side. This gives me complete control of quality and cost while feeding 800 students a day. I develop the strategies for menus using the culinary techniques that have been passed down from chef to chef since Escoffier.

     

    It’s a little over whelming when you walk into a brand new kitchen and start cooking for the first time. Everything has to find a home. You usually start to notice small pieces of equipment that you need and have been neglected for years and years. Well thought out ideas explode with reality when that many meals being served by 11; 00 am each day. The chef starts to reconsider his ideas. I imagine I’m not the first one to implode but mine was kind of gentle. I came into the food service directors job with open eyes and soon found it to be a challenge but not only that , it also became very rewarding. Kids in our school system love lunch. You can see the excitement on their faces as they walk up to the window. They understand food better then we as adults give them credit for. In their eyes you could probably give them pizza or sloppy Joes every day and they would be happy. We varied our four week menu cycle trying to open not only their eyes to new things but also building each Childs taste buds in advancement of food knowledge. Starting in head start our chef Reah Schmidt introduces many new foods and is taking them on their first culinary trip. As they come to kindergarten and onward we keep building on that premise. The goal is for a child is able to make a choice after they finish 12 years of school. Our job will be complete if a graduated young person walks into a grocery store, looks at a bunch of grapes and a bag of chips, makes a decision about what they want and that decision is based on knowledge we have exposed them to in the school lunch program .We did our job. That is the goal of the child nutrition program.

     

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  6. CDE OSN Conferance

    February 28, 2013 by Chef Danny

    Why is there so many acronyms in the government? I returned this week from a conference in Colorado Springs put on by the Colorado Division of Education/ Office of School Nutrition. (CDE OSN) Its put on every year for Food Service Authorities ( FSA’s) in the hopes the energy can be re ignited for another year. I  wish I could say it was successful in all aspects but in reality small districts in our state have no financial power. This means these conferances are really designed around the big inner city districts.

    I was asked to present on Thursday morning to a group  of 183. That is 90% of all the districts in our state. I did a presentation on the change in our school districts food service. I presented a power point with pictures of trays beaming with freshness, my team , pictures that you have seen on  this blog page throughout the year. It was very successful. The most important issue I got at this conferance was a presentation done by the USDA. As you may know the USDA gives school districts commodity entitlements every year to help supplement the food cost in our budget. Basically its free food. Two months ago the USDA sent all SFA’s a survey asking us what we would like to see in the future as far as available food. Of course my survey was filled with everything and anything fresh. But in the USDA presentation the graphs showed a very disturbing fact. FSA’s in our state want highly process foods  that can be heated and served. In short the system has become a product of its own environment. These are very sad findings for the  kids in our state and probably country. The idea of change to FSA’s that have held the position for the last twenty plus years and this is a good number of FSA’s in the system is daunting. Complacincy is at an  overwhelming  high. A change in the guard is going to be needed and to be truthful they just don’t want to do it. It will actually be easier for small districts to accomplish this because of the sheer numbers. We live in a really cool town that has come together to make this work.  Its a great start and the future looks better and better for our kids in Salida.

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  7. March Menu

    February 27, 2013 by Chef Danny

    March 2013 Calendar

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  8. Thought

    February 27, 2013 by Chef Danny

    I just got a comment on my blog that describes our foodservice as  very progressive. I don’t see it that way.  I find that in conversation on  this subject I find myself explaining to the person I’m engaged with that what we are doing is not a secret .Its plane and simply correct. The system has been misused for so long it has become a product of its own environment. We are doing everything we can to move the food we feed our kids to a place that once was. In essence we are just going full circle but in our case we are doing it with the techniques of a professional culinarian rather than really good mom cooks.

    My vision in our districts food service is as the food service blog states. “Freshness is The First Criterion.”  It will take some time but anything sustainable always does. We’re not reinventing the wheel. We are just doing an alignment!!!

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  9. Second Semester is about tuning

    February 6, 2013 by Chef Danny

    The second semester is now rolling along and we in the kitchen are getting use to the second four week cycle menu.I did have to tweak the menu  just a bit from January to better fit our needs. But all in all its working rather well. The kids are eating fresh homemade food and plenty of different salads, fruits and vegetables. We changed the sandwiches to a sub type using our homeade  51%  WW/ baguette. Little by little I can feel the thinking of our culinary staff changing. We are all growing into a great department that really cares and wants to learn the culinary arts.

      I am a presenter this month at the State food service directors conference in Colorado Springs.Its a real honor to be chosen to speak after a few months in my position. 83% of our states school districts represent our size or smaller. They are having a  hard time making a positive change in the food they prepare. My presentation will be on recipe methods and menu building with an emphasis on moving to scratch cooking.

     Attached is a picture of a German yellow cake we did for the SABC awards ceremony. That is the first time this year we’ve prepared anything dessert using simple sugar.  Also the February menu is attached .

    Also attached is the February menu.

    Februaury-Menu

     

     

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  10. The final step in 51% Whole Grain

    January 23, 2013 by Chef Danny

    Well, after many months of trial and error I really feel I have a 51% whole wheat bread dough that the kids will really enjoy. Its hardy, tasty and full of the nutritional value needed to sustain our kids during a long day in the classroom. We have already started making the Deli sandwiches in the high school and they sell out everyday. I am teaching the cooks how to make a baguette style loaf. With this form we can make many items used for our meals. Tomorrow I will turn them into individual WW french bread pizza and see how it goes. I imagine they will really enjoy lunch. The possibilities are endless with a baguette style loaf and the control of the grain component is perfect, every-time. I’m very excited to introduce the new bread into the district and we will get this done over the next semester. Getting the production side of it together is now the challenge but I have all the right people in place and we will get it done. I’m going to present this recipe and methodology at the CDE State Food Service Directors conference in February during a presentation I’m doing on our food program and the way our town is moving forward for our kid’s nutrition. It’s exciting to be in my position and watch it on a daily basis but it’s everyone in Salida that is driving this positive movement. We should all be proud!!

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