PEOPLE
Executive Chef Trina Nelson works with the district's Chef Team to create new recipes for students.
LEADING THE CHEF TEAM Nelson was the Central Kitchen Manager for about five and a half years. She eventually left the central kitchen during the pandemic after she received a call from the nutri- tion director asking her if she’d like to form and lead the district’s first ever Chef Team. Now, in her current role, Nelson is tasked primarily with thinking up new dishes that will excite stu- dents and also reflect their cultural heritage. When not developing new recipes for the menu, you can often find her visiting with students in the cafeterias and handing out samples. Recently, she tested a vegetarian street taco and was blown away by the response. “[The students] were like, ‘Oh my gosh this was so good!’” she says. Along with continuing to do more in-person taste testing with students, Nelson would also like to increase the amount of nutrition education opportunities for stu- dents so they can learn more about the different foods they’re trying. “Kids eat with their eyes, right? And if they see something up there that they'd never ever seen be- fore, they're not going to touch it,” she says. Dallas ISD also has a culinary arts department, and Nelson would love to find ways to partner with those students in the future. With so many plans in the works, Nelson is focusing on making sure she takes time to recharge, some- thing she’s learned throughout her career as a working single mom. Her advice to other women in the indus- try is to make sure you’re passionate about what you’re doing and also to take time for yourself each day, even if it’s only a few minutes. “You have to be patient with yourself,” she notes. “You have to give yourself an opportunity to rest.”
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Nelson is tasked primarily with thinking up new dishes that will excite students and also reflect their cultural heritage. When not developing new recipes for the menu, you can often find her visiting with students in the cafeterias and handing out samples."
trition director to get the district’s smoothie program up and running. They created a smoothie recipe using just fruit, yogurt and juice. The smoothie is produced in the central kitchen where it is then bagged, fro- zen and delivered to the district’s cafeterias. It is served with an oat- meal bar to form a compliant meal.
since was used to having no nutri- tional restrictions in her previous jobs, she used the regulations as a way to push herself. “It just challenged me to be more creative within the boundaries of what we're able to do,” she says. One of the first tasks in her new position was working with the nu-
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Along with continuing to do more in- person taste testing with students, Nelson would also like to increase the amount of nutrition education opportunities for students so they can learn more about the different foods they’re trying."
Q2 2024
FSD QUARTERLY
7
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