Jeffco Food and Nutrition Services Executive Chef Yuri Sanow looks on as a group of Jeffco students help him mix up some new recipes in the Jeffco test kitchen as part of a taste test.
The Jeffco Schools Food and Nutrition Services Department is tasked with providing meals for 154 different schools in the district. Some might argue these food workers have some of the toughest jobs in Jeffco. Ever-changing food and nutrition regulations keep this small army in constant meal-preparation mode.
Yuri Sanow, Jeffco’s Executive Chef, enjoys the challenge of balancing the latest food and nutrition regulations with the often particular tastes of Jeffco students. Each school year, Sanow reinvents school menus, and, this year, he met with a select group of Jeffco students to get their feedback. Twelve-year-old Owen Jensen, his ten-year-old sister Rhylee, seven-year-old brother Spencer, six-year-old sister Jocelyn, and four-year-old sister Adylane were all recruited to weigh in on Sanow’s creations at the Food and Nutrition Services Department test kitchen, where he works.
As part of the experience, Sanow asked the kids to help him create the dishes they were going to sample.
“We’re just trying a couple of the new items this year,” remarked Sanow. “Steak quesadillas will be on all the menus this year. We are doing a steak and potato burrito as well. We have tamales, which we had on the menu last year, but we reworked them this year to make them taste even better.”
The student taste testers were asked to give their honest opinions about the new recipes, and to determine whether their classmates would feel the same. Samples ranged from spaghetti and meat sauce (made with Colorado grass-fed beef) to Boulder natural chicken (barbecued) with a side of sweet potatoes and apples. Just to add a little crunch, Sanow sprinkled a little granola on top.
The kids gave each dish a big thumbs up.
Linda Stoll, Jeffco’s Executive Director of Food Services has the ultimate say on what goes out from Sanow’s test kitchen to schools. She says she is proud to have someone of Sanow’s caliber as part of her staff.
“It’s nice to have the creative end of the school lunch program,” Stoll explained. “The Executive Chef phenomenon has happened within the last four or five years in school districts around the country.”
Stoll says the only limitations to what Sanow is able to whip up, are the costs of mass producing it for thousands of Jeffco students and staff.
“It’s usually not a lot more expensive,” Stoll said. “We look for dishes that we can customize, but also do quickly.”
Stoll points out the dishes fit in with the overall goal of producing meals that are fresher, and less processed.
“We’re among the top school districts in the country in cooking from scratch and using local products,” she said.
Watch the JPS-TV version of this story here.