Aroostook Hosts School Meal Training

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (WAGM) - For the first time, Maine’s Culinary Skills for School Meals training is being held right here in Aroostook County. At Presque Isle High School, food service staff from across the region are getting hands-on experience aimed at making school meals healthier and more appealing to students.

Inside the kitchen at Presque Isle High School, food service staff from schools across Aroostook County are sharpening their culinary skills. This week’s training marks the first time the program has come to the county—and the timing couldn’t be better, coinciding with harvest break when students are out of school. Participants say the training is both practical and inspiring, equipping them with new tools to prepare nutritious meals students will enjoy.

Melanie Lagasse, Valley Unified Education’s Food Service Director said, “The reason this training is so important is a couple different things, one is it allows us to promote the local farm to school piece of our nutrition program where we can purchase locally, and the second is it brings back efficiency into our kitchens.”

Laura Baker, Presque Isle’s Food Service Director added: “I’ve had some of my cooks today tell me how much information they’ve gotten already this week just from knife skills and how to cut things and make their life easier so that when they do prep stuff for the kids it’s quicker. So, that they’re more apt to try new things and do some taste testing with the kids to get them to try new vegetables and different seasonings.”

Lagasse: “The culinary training is going to be something that is going to benefit all of the kitchens that are involved here this week and it gives all of the staff an opportunity to go back into their kitchens and show the people that were not there new techniques.”

Kitchen staff say they’re walking away with practical knowledge they can immediately apply. Audrey Cyr, Head Cook at Madawaska Elementary and a training participant said: “This will improve all of our kitchens and hopefully everyone uses what they’re learning. Very informative. A lot of knowledge being passed on to us. We’re taking notes like crazy. The different spices that we’re using it’s unbelievable. It’s a really great day today. People think Elementary schools or schools in general the food is bland. So, this is a nice experience to go forth and use different types of seasonings that we wouldn’t think of using in a school kitchen.” By the end of the week, participants hope to return to their schools with fresh ideas and new skills to help serve healthier, tastier meals to students across the county.