Jazzing Up Cafeteria Food

One way to try and make school cafeteria food tastier is to bring in a top-notch chef to jazz it up.
The Vermilion Parish School District is doing exactly that.
According to School Superintendent Jerome Puyau “The new federal guidelines reduced how much salt we could use in our meals. We knew our cafeteria workers were doing a great job and were upset that students did not appreciate the meals that they were cooking. We wanted the best of both worlds: no salt and great taste!”
In recognition to National Heart Awareness Month (February) and National Nutrition Month (March), the Vermilion Parish School District has partnered with local organizations to bring awareness and support their community in creating healthy habits for life.
The school district brought in Holly Clegg. She is known as Louisiana’s “Queen of the Quick.” She has her own wellness approach called “Cooking with Holly Clegg.”
“Cooking with Holly Clegg” is an innovative wellness approach addressing the new school meal nutritional guidelines imposed for schools across the country. This initiative was created to promote the positive aspects of living a healthy lifestyle.
“I am excited to be working with Vermilion Parish School District because I feel that nutrition awareness and a healthy lifestyle begins with the children,” Clegg said.
Clegg was at Abbeville High on Tuesday and she will be at North Vermilion High School today.
She taught the cafeteria workers from various parish schools how to prepare dishes and make them tastier.
The cooks on Tuesday prepared cheesy chicken spaghetti, glazed carrots and a fiesta salad. They modified it with Clegg’s recommendations.
Stake holders from the parish got a chance to sample the dishes prepared by Clegg Tuesday at Abbeville High School.
Other special guest speakers from the parish were: 4-H/LSU Ag. – Shannon Waits, Hilton Waits, Dan Davenport, and Mandy Armentor; Southern Ag. – William Augustine; and Benoit’s Best Seasoning – Alexandra Duhon. Following the general session, key staff will join Holly for a breakaway session in the ProStart kitchens where they will work together to prepare three recipes based on school meal requirements and Holly’s special tips for tasty AND healthy meals!
The ProStart program was created by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and other state restaurant association partners.
ProStart reaches more than 95,000 students in 1,900 high schools across 48 states, Guam, and U.S. military bases.
Two high schools in the Vermilion Parish School District, Abbeville High School and North Vermilion High School, were awarded the ProStart grant and provided a fully equipped ProStart kitchen. “From culinary techniques to management skills, ProStart’s industry driven curriculum provides real-life experience opportunities and builds practical skills and a foundation that will last a lifetime.”
This initiative was made possible through a partnership with Holly Clegg Inc., Activate4Kids (UHG), and the Vermilion Parish School Board under the direction of Superintendent Jerome Puyau. Special recognition goes to Amy Fremin, Vermilion Parish School Board, Child Nutrition Supervisor, for all her efforts in fostering this partnership and her determination to provide the very best to the students, faculty, staff, and the community of Vermilion Parish.