The task of cooking for 1,500 students has undoubtedly become more challenging after the school cafeteria introduced preparing meals from scratch at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Rather than reheating pre-packaged meals, the cafeteria is turning to home-cooked meals using their own original recipes.

“We make all of our fries except tater tots — we get fresh potatoes, we wash them, we cut them up, and we bake them,“ San Mateo Union High School District Director of Nutrition Denis Vorrises said.

Beyond improved taste, the school switched to cooking from scratch to prioritize better nutrition. Using fresh ingredients allows cafeteria staff to reduce some unhealthy components that couldn’t be altered with pre-packaged meals.

“We are not supposed to put sugar and salt in the recipe, so that makes [the food] very healthy,” Lead Kitchen Manager Siu Yuen said.

To comply with strict state nutritional guidelines — which limit school meals to under 850 calories, 1,420 mg of sodium, and 0 grams of trans fat — the kitchen staff has reduced portion sizes.

“To meet the less salt, to meet the less fat, and to meet the calories … portion sizes end up being smaller,” Vorrises said.

The cafeteria encourages students to add fruits and vegetables to their meals, but not all students take advantage of the options.

“They can grab four pieces of fruit — we encourage that. Unfortunately [the students] don’t always grab it,” Vorrises said.

Freshman Jason Lu, however, finds the variety helps him balance his plate.

“I sometimes grab apples, they have a lot of options for me to choose from and that makes it a healthy meal,” Lu said.

However, introducing new healthy meals comes with its challenges. State budget restrictions require the cafeteria to prepare meals at a fraction of the cost they would sell for in stores, just to break even.

“We have to be able to make [food] for five dollars versus if you want to go buy that in the store, you’re going to pay $10, $12, $15,” Vorrises said.

Despite the home-cooked meals and the kitchen’s active efforts to improve nutrition, some students still feel that the menu could include a wider selection of healthy meal choices to choose from.

“I believe [the school] should add more healthy meals because there are not a large number of healthy meals that I enjoy eating,” freshman Marco Amandy said.

Aware that some students share similar opinions, Yuen hopes to increase the diversity of meals on the menu.

“I would like to bring more new recipes so that the kids don’t feel that [they are eating] the same items. That is my main goal,” Yuen said.

Meet Siu Yen, new lead kitchen manager

With the recent retirement of former lead kitchen manager Vicki Ottoboni, new Lead Kitchen Manager Siu Yuen is ready to impress the growing number of students eating school lunches with meals cooked from scratch.

Yuen has been creating a variety of meals for many years, and her passion for cooking originates with her family. 

“As a mother, I really like to cook food for my kids. I create a lot of Asian food, American food, Korean Food, and Japanese food at my home. So I would like to share my experience in our school district,” Yuen said. 

Yuen began her professional cooking career 12 years ago while supervising a bakery.

“I [was] working in a bakery as a manager for two years, and then I was working in Panda Express for a year and then in this district [for] nine years,” Yuen said.

This experience has helped her to manage the difficult task of overseeing a kitchen.

“I start at 5 a.m. in the morning and then [prepare] our food. So in the first two hours, I’m preparing brunch, breakfast items, so yogurt, cinnamon bun, french toast, and muffins,” Yuen said.

This story was originally published on The Burlingame B on November 4, 2024.