Once a year, the Sodexo food service in the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District takes a break from the typical school lunch and prepares a meal celebrating fine dining with a few select students.
The meal is for elementary school students who have earned the privilege to attend by accomplishing various tasks.
Those accomplishments include maintaining perfect attendance, good grades, or for students who just need a win.
Traci Price, operations manager for Sodexo, said they serve an upscale menu, decorate the room to mimic a fine dining restaurant, take the students’ order and serve a three-course meal.
Children at Yake Elementary School enjoyed an upscale meal along with a fancy dessert, some creme Brulé. The students enjoyed seeing the sugar melting with the torch. (Photo courtesy of the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District)
This year in addition to their main entree, Chef Chris Brown served a table side Caesar salad and for dessert, a table side creme Brulé.
The students enjoyed seeing the sugar melting with the torch.
Once a year Sodexo, the food service for the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District, prepared a special lunch for a number of Yake Elementary students and even treated them to dessert. (Photo courtesy of the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District)
“During the meal, we discussed fine dining etiquette, such as how to set a table with multiple (pieces of) silverware and which utensil to use for each course,” Price said. “We also play soft music in the background. Our students are encouraged to dress up and they do.”
The principals also join in the event, remarking on how exciting it is for the adults, as well as the children.
Sodexo, the food service for the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District, treated a select number of students to an elegant lunch. They even had a special menu to help select their choices. (Photo courtesy of the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District)
“I look forward to it every year,” Price said. “Fine dining and Future Chef events are my favorite times of the year.”
Future Chef is a competition among elementary children in the district who make a dish from a recipe and are judged on a set criteria, including how easy it is to make, if it is a health-conscious option, and how well it works with the theme of the competition.
The contestants compete for the best dish at the district, state, and national levels.
Students at Yake Elementary School were treated to an upscale lunch as a reward for reaching impressive milestones. They also learned how to set a full table. (Photo courtesy of the Woodhaven-Brownstown School District)