You’re in class and your stomach starts to growl. You’re distracted from what you’re doing. All of a sudden, you’re thinking about what’s for lunch. From big daddy‘s pizza, popcorn chicken, and the nacho bar, the quesadilla happens to be the most liked meal, according to Foran students. However, who is behind all of the cooking and preparation to feed the students?
While the students are in their classes learning, a hardworking group of kitchen staff comes together each morning to prepare food for breakfast and lunch. Manager Marybeth Salvato, arrives each morning at 5:45 AM with a huge smile on her face, ready to start the day off with her coworkers Jean Lydiksen, Raye Gagliardi, Najia Ashfaq, Ana Osegueda, Joanne Chow Yen, and Raymond Torres. Salvato has been working in the food services industry for about 27 years.
Each morning, every person has a role when it comes to preparing the food. Salvato starts the day off with baking the cookies. She says, “Not many of you guys know that I come in here every morning and bake the cookies.”
Lydiksen makes the triple decker peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and Gagliardi, the cook, makes the hot food that will be served.
The kitchen does batch cooking, which is cooking larger amounts of food in order to store some for later. The staff’s main priority is having enough for the students.
“If we did 250 quesadillas last time, this time we would try 265. So we always have extra.” “What we want to do is make sure that the first person from the first lunch wave to the last person in the third lunch wave has the same choices,” states Salvato.
A benefit of the batch cooking system is that if there is extra, it can be repurposed for another meal. An example Salvato gave was, “With the leftover pasta, [Gagliardi] is creating pasta salad.”
Salvato says, “My favorite part about working here is the kids.”
Salvato enjoys working and believes the students respect the kitchen staff. She states, “The majority of the kids here are friendly and respectful, they say please and thank you.”
Lydiksen also enjoys seeing the students and forming bonds with them. “I always felt like we’re the moms here. While you guys are in class learning and getting smart, we are all the moms here feeding you and taking care of you,” she explains.
When special times roll around, the kitchen prepares something to celebrate the occasion. For instance, Thanksgiving dinner, Chinese New Year fortune cookies, and Valentine’s cookies are offered to the students in the lunchroom.
The lunch staff goes to great lengths to please the palettes of each meal and accommodate for each student.
