PEOPLE
HOW EXECUTIVE CHEF TRINA NELSON IS BRINGING CULINARY EXCELLENCE TO DALLAS ISD
NELSON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR LEADING THE DISTRICT’S FIRST EVER CHEF TEAM, WHICH AIMS TO DEVELOP RECIPES THAT WILL GET STUDENTS EXCITED ABOUT SCHOOL MEALS.
D allas Independent School District (Dallas ISD) Ex- ecutive Chef Trina Nelson has always had a passion for cooking. Some of her earliest memories include mak- ing breakfast for herself and her younger brother before they left for school. “I was that kid that didn't watch Saturday morning cartoons,” she says. “Instead, I watched shows like Julia Child and the Frugal Gourmet on PBS.” Fast forward to today, Nelson has expanded from making sure she and her brother had a healthy start to the school day to making sure that the thousands of students at Dallas ISD are well fed and ready to learn. BY BENITA GINGERELLA
FINDING HER WAY TO DALLAS ISD Nelson graduated from the Univer- sity of Illinois. During school, she kept up with cooking by preparing meals for the various sports teams on campus. After graduation, Nelson ended up going to culinary school in Chi- cago at Le Cordon Bleu and from there, worked many jobs in the food industry, including overseeing ca- tering and concessions at Navy Pier in Chicago, opening her own cater- ing company, teaching culinary arts at a community college and a stint at Corner Bakery. Immediately prior to coming to Dallas ISD, Nelson worked as a cu- linary instructor for Le Cordon Bleu in Dallas. After the company shut down its U.S. campuses, Nelson was invited to instruct in Europe, but since her daughter was only 10 years
old at the time, she passed. Shortly after, Dallas ISD came calling. “One of my [Le Cordon Bleu] students was the catering super- visor at Dallas ISD,” says Nelson. “She came to class one night, and she says, ‘Chef, we have a brand new director, and she's looking to really grow our central kitchen, as well as our catering department and she's looking to open up a cafe where our culinary students can do their work study’ and I said, ‘Where do I sign up?’” Her first job with the dis- trict was a dual central kitchen manager and executive chef role where she managed production at the district’s 153,575 square-foot centralized kitchen. While coming up with recipes that meet the School Nutrition Standards was a change for Nelson
FSD QUARTERLY
Q2 2024
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF DALLAS ISD
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