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<\/a><\/p>\nNo, this wasn\u2019t an episode of the Food Network\u2019s popular television show \u2018Chopped.\u2019 It was one of the classes that that the district\u2019s new chef Kip Poole is hosting for cafeteria managers and aspiring cooks to learn the basics of scratch cooking. This one focused on stocks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re holding classes almost weekly and soon biweekly,\u201d Poole said. \u201cOur main goal is to train every cafeteria manager and assistant manager by next summer. We\u2019ve done classes on knife skills, salad dressings, different types of greens and now we\u2019re really getting into the main focus and that\u2019s stocks, which are the main building blocks of sauces and soups.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a sample lesson on how to make sachet bags using aromatic and flavorful herbs such as thyme, the 20 attendees, who are\u00a0cafeteria managers and assistants from across the division\u2019s schools, scuttled to gather in teams of three or four to set up their stations. Their assignment: Create a stock and then use it to make a soup or a gravy.<\/p>\n
Teams began by looking over the class handout, which detailed how to make a stock. Next, they started on their \u2018mise en place,\u2019 a French culinary term taught to them by Chef Poole which refers to prepping of ingredients, such as dicing or measuring, before the actual cooking begins.<\/p>\n Kempsville Middle School\u2019s cafeteria manager Dee Brown and her group, whom they named Team Sachet, were working on a turkey tetrazzini gravy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really an awesome class,\u201d she said as her team diced onions and potatoes. \u201cAt first, I was a little apprehensive. I thought it would be real hard but it isn\u2019t. It\u2019s real hands on and he\u2019s here to help you. Just the different things that he\u2019s showing us are important\u2013 like how to properly cut an onion.\u201d<\/p>\n Collaborating with staff from other schools is also a perk.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get to work with others,\u201d said Brown. \u201cAnd, these ladies are very creative so I\u2019m having a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n Two stations over, cafeteria managers Carol Karpovich and Luz Bonet from Glenwood and Shelton Park elementary schools, respectively, were working on a French onion soup \u2013 something which neither of them had cooked before.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying it out,\u201d Karpovich enthusiastically said. \u201cWe looked up the recipe, which we are allowed to do. We could try things that we\u2019ve already tried at home, but what\u2019s the fun in that. We want to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n Over on the other side of the kitchen, the team of two cooks and one baker hired to assist Chef Poole develop recipes for the scratch-cooking program were working on an Asian noodle bowl.<\/p>\n \u201cThe struggle is to get the portion size right, that the vegetables are right and that the sauce is right,\u201d said cook Kimberly Freeman, who has worked in numerous professional kitchens with Disney and well-known cruise lines.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to finalize it because the [school division\u2019s] nutritionist will come to test it. She\u2019s going to break it down and ask about the sauce, sodium, etc. We have to make sure it\u2019s 100 percent accurate for our guests.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about her reference to guests, she took pride in stating that\u2019s how she views students.<\/p>\n \u201cI see them as guests because we are the chefs and they are the guests in our cafeteria,\u201d she stated as she headed back to check on the teams who were finalizing their soup and gravy creations.<\/p>\n Her first stop was with Team Kitchen Witches who had prepared a Thai turkey soup.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re using a secret ingredient,\u201d said Dawna Bonuz, cafeteria assistant at Old Donation School, one of the team members who worked on the\u00a0Thai creation. \u201cIt\u2019s ginger.\u201d<\/p>\n After tasting it and giving the team praise for the Asian inspiration and flavor, Freeman headed to the next group, Karpovich and Bonet\u2019s team, to taste the French onion soup.<\/p>\n \u201cYum. I can taste a nice hint of lemon or lemongrass,\u201d she said. Freeman also applauded them for thinking outside of the box.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t technically grade them but they do follow a rubric to make sure they are following guidelines and to provide them feedback,\u201d said Chef Poole.<\/p>\n That rubric is the same one used by the National Educational Restaurant Foundation, ProStart, which is used with culinary students. Teams are evaluated on sanitation, time management, product waste, \u2018mise en place,\u2019 work station cleanliness, technical skills such as knife use, correct use of kitchen equipment, proper attire and teamwork.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are seeing a burst of energy in the cafeterias since these classes started,\u201d according to Poole. Upcoming classes in December include Cooking Methods I and Cooking Methods II, and a variety of other offerings will continue throughout the school year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are learning how to put different flavors together,\u201d said White Oaks Elementary School cafeteria manager Terri Park. \u201cSome of them you think \u2018oh, that\u2019s not going to go together,\u2019 but then you put it together and it actually tastes pretty good. This was a good lesson for me today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n