10 Simple Paths to Culinary Excellence Without Scratch Cooking
By Angela Gomez, RDN, SNS, Dietitian and Strategic Marketing Manager, Nourish Partners and Janel Wojcik, SNS, Program Manager, Nourish Partners
Basic culinary training - like knife skills or mise en place - can signifi - cantly impact your team. Teaching staff how to chop, portion, and or - ganize ingredients can boost confi - dence, increase productivity, and em - power them to create elevated school meals while taking pride in their work. Action: Identify the best time for training and make a plan. Inspiration: Assign CICN’s Culinary Quick Bites over summer break. 1 Start with Training
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W ant to elevate your school meal program but don’t have access to a chef, equip - ment, infrastructure, or support to start scratch-cooking this school year? Small, impactful changes can add flavor, variety, and engagement to your cafeteria. Whether it’s a zesty sauce, a vibrant salad bar, or a cre - ative toppings station, small ideas can bring big excitement to school meals while keeping nutrition and participa - tion top of mind. You don’t need a full scratch-cook - ing setup - just a little inspiration. Here are 10 ideas to elevate school meals that don’t require all the bells and whistles of scratch cooking. Iden - tify what’s within your reach and take action!
New Tool
You are building your cafeteria dream team, and you want practical, gradual ways to elevate school meals. Get fa - miliar with a new commercial kitchen tool or piece of equipment. Let that guide your team’s recipe exploration! Action: Research a new tool that aligns with your program goals. Inspiration: A commercial immer - sion blender for smoothies, dress - ings, and sauces.
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3 Flavorful Additions Without Component Crediting
Toppings Bar
A fun and engaging way to enhance your program is a toppings bar or pre-packaged toppings kit. Offering a variety of fresh, flavorful, and color - ful toppings lets students customize their meals, boosting participation and customer satisfaction. Action: Choose one menu item and offer three topping options. Inspiration: Create Sonoran-style Hot Dogs and offer hot sauce, salsa, fresh sliced jalapeños, diced onions, or tomatoes.
Take the pressure off of using the Food Buying Guide to calculate meal component crediting and start with a “bonus” item. We are talking salsas, sauces, and sea - soning blends. Action: Choose a condiment rec - ipe with minimal ingredients to compliment a current menu item. Inspiration: Hot Honey Feta Dip on a Beef, Salmon, or Veggie Burger
Janel Wojcik, SNS | Program Manager, Nourish Partners Janel Wojcik, SNS (she/her), is a Program Manager at Nourish Partners. Based in Los Angeles, she has 15 years of experience working in the technology sector and non-profit organizations, overseeing cross-cultural teams worldwide and navigating diverse working styles and cultural distinctions. With 20 years of improvisation experience, Janel brings a unique blend of humor and practical strategies to enhance teamwork, communication, and efficiency. With a passion for food and cooking, she also volunteers with foster youth, teaching cooking classes. Nourish Partners bridges the gap between school nutrition programs and school nutrition industry to cultivate relationships and provide effective, sustainable solutions through coaching and training. Learn more at www.nourishpartners.org or follow us on Instagram @NourishPartners .
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