Tell me about your career path.
In high school, I started cooking family meals. While in college at University of California, San Diego, where I majored in English and French literature, I studied abroad in France during my junior year, and I became even more interested in food because I lived with a French family who regularly served amazing meals.
After graduating from college, I attended and graduated from two professional culinary schools; Le Cordon Rouge Culinary School (now closed) and Ecole Lenôtre, a pastry school in Paris. For 12 years, I worked in private industry. I worked at Chez Panisse in Berkeley and with the Robert Mondavi Winery Great Chef Program. In the early nineties, I was the Executive Chef at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, which is owned by George Lucas.
In 1994, while at Skywalker Ranch, the Dept. of Education asked me to sit on a task force and help develop curriculum that promoted culinary interest in children. It was a huge hit, and that’s when I became interested in kids, schools and the food programs that impact them. I’ve been consulting or working in school districts since then, and I’ve been the Director of Food Services in a number of other school districts throughout the Bay Area.
What are your duties?
I wear a lot of hats, so to speak, at the four high schools in the district (Acalanes, Campolindo, Las Lomas and Miramonte). We had an outside company running food services for 20 years, but now have operations managed in-house instead, which I’ve overseen for a year and a half as Director of Food Services. I have to work with very limited financial resources and was charged with the responsibility of eliminating the department budget deficit. In one year, I turned a $150,000 deficit into a $29,000 surplus working with very stringent guidelines placed by the federal government. The amount of paperwork it takes to put out a school lunch everyday is huge because everything we do is regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
I also oversee Custodial Services. I work with the associate principals and manage staffing, subs, payroll, training, discipline, evaluations, etc. for the custodial staff at each site. Additionally, I’m the Health and Safety Coordinator for the district along with the Director of Maintenance and Operations, so he and I handle all the safety training for the district.
What services are you proud to offer?
I think it’s important to offer students an appetizing and nutritious menu, so we serve organic bread from an artisan bakery in Berkeley; we also serve a variety of local produce from throughout the Bay Area in our daily lunch menu. We make fresh fruit parfaits, pasta specials, burritos, Asian rice bowls, sandwiches, salads and pizza from scratch.
We’re always trying to make fresher, more appealing food despite the extreme budget constraints because the more food we sell the more revenue we make, which then goes back into the program. In fact, due to increased sales this past year, I’ve been able to double our intake of fruits and vegetables. I think most students are aware and appreciative of the efforts of all of us in the food services department. In fact, Club Veg, a student club at Las Lomas High School, helped bring a salad bar to their school through a grant we applied for and won.
Are there job opportunities available in this field?
If you hold a bachelor’s degree in food management or are a registered dietician, there are entry-level supervisory positions available; if you’re experienced in the culinary arts, districts are looking for chefs. If you have a passion for food and kids, working in food service is very rewarding because you’re reaching young people at a pivotal time in their lives and potentially providing a proper eating pattern for the future.
If you would like to be considered for a career profile or want to nominate someone, e-mail Charlotte Cusack at ccusack@bayareanewsgroup.com.
To see more Career Profiles, visit www.mercurynews.com/career-profiles.
Originally Published: February 4, 2011 at 5:52 AM PST
Dining and Cooking