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Let's redo lunch!

01.01.70

The school served 650 hot lunches, 150 more than on an average day.

The lunch rush was the result of a guest chef program that brought in Erin Dow, a Maine chef who is part of first lady Michelle Obama's Chefs Move to Schools program.

Dow is also the expert chef with the Maine-based Guiding Stars program and owns a catering company in Winthrop called Eatswell Farm.

"I'm always trying to develop recipes kids will eat," said Dow, who is the mother of three. "The best thing we can do is tweak something they like or create a new dish with a flavor profile they know."

Thursday's menu was part of the Windham-Raymond school district's effort to serve more minimally processed and local foods. It featured made-from-scratch Parmesan-crusted chicken tenders, carrot fries with a Greek yogurt dipping sauce, BLT pasta salad made with whole-grain pasta and a Maine-grown apple.

Samantha Bell, 5, who normally brings her lunch to school, bought lunch on Thursday.

Source: Press Herald

The Reluctant Gourmet - Cross-border cuisine

01.01.70

Grilled cheese sandwiches, designer chaat and Caphirina trucks. If the predictions of San-Francisco-based hospitality consulting-agency, Andrew Freeman & Co., are to be believed, 2012 is going to be colourful.

Of course December is all about sweeping statements. All ‘industry watchers' are looking back on the year gone by, and speculating about future trends. In this bustle Andrew Freeman & Co stands out because they have a reputation for coming out with sassily presented ideas — many of which are spot on. Previous hits include predicting the ‘Nordic Invasion.' (Scandinavian design, marked by minimalism, functionality and low costs, is flooding the world. Think Ikea.) On the food front, pies replacing cupcakes, miniature versions of popular food and edible souvenirs in hotels.

So what will you be eating next year? Andrew Freeman & Co's ‘Passion Collection 2012: The Hottest Trends and Predictions for Hotels, Restaurants, and Spas in the Next Year' starts with paean to the potato. If you're a carbohydrate hating, Atkin eater, this is not the best news. But then, who can resist a French fry? This is the year of fry menus. Choose your cut, colour and sauce. Watch fries arrive in twists, twirls and curls. Bedecked with artisan toppings — pesto, peanut sauce and curry; gruyere, chunky chilli and truffle oil. No one is immune. Burger King recently introduced a new recipe featuring thicker fries with reduced sodium to take on Wendy's with their ‘natural cut fries with sea salt', and some skin to remind people about the potato's “all-natural origin.”

Source: The Hindu