Onsite with FSD

On this episode of the Onsite with FSD podcast, University of Michigan Executive Chef Bouakhanh “Bou” Greene, CEC, talks about her recent win at NACUFS (National Association of College & University Food Services) National Culinary Challenge.

She has a few strategies and tactics for cooking in front of American Culinary Federation judges, from mise en place to confident mindset. As a working mom, a woman chef and a Laotian, Greene is psyched to represent those communities, and her drive to lift others up as she succeeds is totally inspiring.

Her ideas for flavors and how she comes up with recipes are really fun to get into, and her casual, everyday food is just as exciting as the dish that won gold at NACUFS: Pan-seared branzino with Laotian fish essence, shrimp crispy balls, bulgur, mung bean, crushed peanut and savoy cabbage wrap, topped with tiger sauce.

School nutrition grants can be a great way for school nutrition programs to receive the necessary funding needed for new equipment, staff training, and more. As Executive Director of Programs for the nonprofit Chef Ann Foundation, Laura Smith has been involved with both writing and receiving grants.

Listen as she shares why grants are so important for school nutrition, how school nutrition professionals can find grants that best fit their needs, and what they should be paying attention to when they are applying for grant funding.

During COVID, Executive Chef for Dallas Independent School District Trina Nelson was approached by her director about starting the district’s first-ever Chef Team. Today, the team includes a group of classically trained chefs whose goal is to drive meal participation at that the district by developing recipes that students love.

Listen as Nelson shares how the Chefs team was formed, how the team is using student feedback to build its menu and her advice for school nutrition professionals looking to start a chef team at their own district.

On this episode of Onsite with FSD, we find out what's going on in a chef's mind as the mystery basket ingredients are revealed.

At the recent Aramark Collegiate Hospitality National Chef Competition, the winners of regional competition among Aramark college chefs met up in San Antonio, at the Culinary Institute of America, to determine the champion through several courses of local, seasonal cuisine. We talk to that champ, UNC-Wilmington’s Chef Ryan Andress, about his thought process before the mystery basket was revealed and during the competition, and his point of view is interesting.

And Aramark Collegiate Hospitality VP of Marketing Deb Parnigoni gives us even more perspective about the competition and also the way the company is looking ahead to get the cutting edge for new concepts, inspiration and ideas in college dining.

The University of Tulsa’s dining management team routinely sends out employee feedback surveys, and Oliva Crow, marketing coordinator at the university says she has noticed a change in employee responses, semester by semester. She says she noticed the feedback has gotten more positive, with employees indicating they feel valued and part of the team. This past spring semester, the dining team achieved a 71% retention rate. With labor being an ongoing issue for foodservice industry, a retention rate like that is impressive. Crow, along with Ed Daughtery, executive campus chef/ regional director of dining at the university, join this episode of Onsite with FSD to discuss the work the university has done to drive retention at the dining program. They discuss how they revamped employee appreciation programs, utilize different avenues of communication and ensure employees feel valued. Keep listening for more.

Earlier this spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its final rule on updates to the Child Nutrition Standards, which will impact things like sodium and added sugars in school meals.

For Child Nutrition Director for Cincinnati Public Schools Jessica Shelly, the updated standards are “a mixed bag.” Listen, as she shares her over all thoughts on the updated standards, how they will impact her program in the years to come and her advice for fellow school nutrition professionals on how to handle the new regulations.

Franceen Friefeld, RD, LD, Ph.Ed., CEO and board chair of The Foodservice Wellness Institute is a freelance wellness consultant, recognized thought leader, and innovator who has led the implementation of wellness programming in more than 6,000 foodservice establishments across North America.

She has seen a lot of changes in the hard-to-define space of wellness over her career. Growing up, her mother was a well-known dietitian who often tested her culinary creations on Franceen and friends, who were happy to try the results. Getting people to try healthier foods has been the essence of her mission, and now her house is the popular place in the neighborhood for the next generation, as she carries on that work. And of course, with so many foodservice operations, it’s not just her neighborhood she’s been able to change for the better. In this episode of the FSD podcast Onsite with FSD, we talk about the many different pieces to the wellness puzzle, especially facing the onsite food service community, from perceptions of health to fat-phobia and unrealistic body image to making plans that are truly holistic in furthering the wellness of those we serve.

When it comes to plant-forward fare at Fordham University, the dining team wants to make sure taste and flavor aren’t forgotten. In many ways, the plant-forward offerings at the university often mirror the meat-centric options. The idea behind that is making sure everybody feels included regardless of dietary restrictions, according to Andrew Bell, senior executive chef at the university who joined On-Site with FSD this week, along with Deming Yaun, dining contract liaison for Aramark at Fordham. 

Listen as the two discuss the different aspects of the dining teams’ plant-forward strategy as well as diners’ response to sustainable dining initiatives.

They discuss Coolfood meals at the university and how it was diners themselves demanding low-carbon meals on campus, sparking the initiative.

They also speak on the campus’ hydroponic gardens, or micro-farms, and the work that goes into maintaining them.

On this episode of Onsite with FSD, FoodService Director's podcast, we learn about Thomas Cuisine, a company founded in 1986 on the principles of good, flavorful food for onsite dining. As the years went by, that emphasis has evolved to scratch-cooking as a source of community and healing, and the overall idea of food as medicine.

CEO Alison Patt started her career in the fine-dining and boutique-hotel arenas and found her way to onsite foodservice as her own life was changing and getting more challenging. She found that the foods she and her family were eating had a very real effect on them. From there, she’s sharing the power of food in her current role, making an impact in the worlds of B&I, healthcare, senior dining and school foodservice.

Director of Food and Nutrition Services Erin Primer has made local food a focus ever since she joined San Luis Coastal Unified School District in San Luis Obispo, Calif., eight years ago.

Each day in the cafeteria, students will find an array of local products including olive oil, fish and produce. Currently, 30% of the nutrition team’s food budget is spent with local farmers and suppliers.

Listen as Primer shares how she finds out about new community partners to work with, her tips for other school nutrition professionals looking to expand their farm-to-school program, and how she and her team are effectively marketing these local products and ingredients to students, parents, and others in the district community.