School chef scores with healthy dish
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Red quinoa topped with edamame, carrots, broccoli, mixed greens, red onion, mandarin oranges and chow mein noodles--believe it or not, that's a meal served in the Marietta High School cafeteria.
Zachary Leverett, executive chef for Marietta City Schools through AVI Fresh food services, was recently honored for creating this meal for students, through a contest that asked "Who's serving the best K-12 meals in America?"
Food Management and sponsor Bush's Beans held the contest, asking for child nutrition specialists to nominate their best offerings. All meals had to meet USDA requirements under the Health, Hunger-Free Kids Act and serve as a reimbursable meal under the National School Lunch/Breakfast programs.
Leverett said he enjoys coming up with nutritious options and new foods for students to try.
Question: How did you come up with this particular meal?
Answer: We do a monthly promotion and one was on the power of whole grains so I got the quinoa in there and then was trying to think of healthy things to put in that would get the kids to try something new and spark their curiosity.
Q: How did they react to it and the other healthy meals offered?
A: At first hesitantly, then once they try it they find out it's not so bad.
Q: Are they usually willing to try it?
A: A lot more than in the past, kids are willing to try something new.
Q: What kind of feedback did they give you on this one?
A: Once they tried it, they came back every day to see if we had more. Through the week, it disappeared quickly.
Q: What grade levels was this offered to?
A: Nine through 12 at Marietta High School. It was in our deli section, where we do a lot of different salads, sandwiches and wraps.
Q: How long have you worked in food services for schools? Have you seen more of a push for healthy options?
A: I'm in my second year and even in these two years I've noticed more demand.
Q: What are some of the other meals you offer that are healthier, or something different?
A: We do a lot of fusion. We tried Korean beef tacos for a while and that went over well. We also press our own pizzas, which is always popular.
Q: Do you have some favorites you enjoy making?
A: I just like to try to inspire the kids a little bit and give them knowledge they can use in their everyday lives, to be healthier and try to curb diabetes.
Q: How did your participation in this contest come about?
A: Our marketing department asked for some recipes that we do. I had actually written this recipe last year but hadn't rolled it out yet. I submitted a few but this one seemed to be the favorite.
Q: What do you think was special about this one?
A: All the flavors just worked really well together. It had some different things in it, but they just worked together.
Q: Do you remember any of the other recipes that you submitted?
A: There was one that was a brown rice and pork barbecue bowl with sweet potatoes and kale.
Q; How often do you try to come up with something new for the students?
A: At the beginning of the year, we come up with our menu concepts. We also do a promotion every month. We're going to have a hot and spicy day where we'll have Nashville hot chicken and next month we're going to have National Southern Food Day and have shrimp and grits. We just like to give them the opportunity to try new things.
Q: Do you think these recipes would work with the elementary students?
A: You've got to tread very lightly there. They really like their chicken nuggets and things. We did try gyros this year and got mixed feedback. We have a lot more luck at the middle school and high school. At least they'll try it at the middle school.
Q: How did you get into this field?
A: I was a chef for about 15 years and then ran across the AVI opening. I thought it was a lot more rewarding than working in restaurants, since I could help kids and spread knowledge.
Q: Do you get to interact a lot with the students?
A: I perform cooking demonstrations at the elementary schools. We set up stations and present the food. It's a way for us to introduce something new and have them try it. If they just got it on a tray without knowing what it was, they're not as likely to eat it. I do those a couple times a month. I did one for the middle school (last week) that showed them some knife skills. I made chicken tortilla soup and wrote them recipe cards.
Q: Are a lot of students interested in learning how to cook?
A: Yes. They get to experience that a lot more through the internet and shows on TV. There's a lot of interest.
Q: For people who don't have kids and are just thinking of school lunch when they were in school, it's a whole different ball game now, right?
A: Yes. We always had just one option. We're going in a good direction and it can only get better.
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Zachary Leverett
¯ Age: 40.
¯ Residence: Vienna.
¯ Occupation: Executive chef for Marietta City Schools, Belpre City Schools and the Washington County Career Center.
¯Education: Le Cordon Bleu Institute in Pittsburgh, Pa.
¯ Family: Wife Kellyn, two daughters, ages 1 and 4.
Source: Zachary Leverett.