On Board Online • June 29, 2026
By Alan Wechsler
Special Correspondent
At 7 a.m. on a Friday, the chefs arrived at Bethlehem High School, located in a suburban district just outside Albany.
It was a visit from Regional Roots, a culinary training effort sponsored by a partnership between the State Education Department (SED), Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY and Brigaid, a Connecticut-based company dedicated to improving food services in schools.
For the past year, the initiative has sent expert chefs to schools around the state to promote the use of locally grown food for school meals.
"It's one component of a larger initiative to bring fresh, farm-grown products statewide," said Karen Male, a spokeswoman for SED.
"It's a great partnership because it exposes students to new foods," she said. "It also provides support for a food services team to learn something new and experiment, and it's a great benefit to local farmers."
Cafeteria food has already come a long way from what older readers may remember from their own school experiences. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 created new rules that, among other things, encouraged the sale of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat or fat-free milk while limiting sodium, sugar and unhealthy fats. Meanwhile, the farm-to-table movement has encouraged some districts around the state to reach out to local food producers while increasing their scratch-made cooking.
However, most school cafeterias place a premium on efficiency, which favors "heat and serve" techniques.
Regional Roots, on the other hand, promotes "speed scratch." The idea is to prepare simple, nutritious and tasty meals while still making sure the dish is ready by lunch-hour.
Since the program began in March 2025, teams of chefs have visited 55 school sites. Schools are selected through an application process. Participants get to choose several meals to make from a wide range of options, including chicken schawarma, Mongolian meatball bowl, tzatziki potato salad, Brussel sprouts in maple syrup, crispy kale chips, and cheese and spinach lasagna.
There is no cost to the district. In addition to the instruction, training includes up to $500 for ingredients and up to $350 worth of small wares such as salad spinners, immersion blenders and other equipment.
In Bethlehem, a dozen kitchen staff met with SED Master Instructor Larry Anthony, a professional chef with 40 years of kitchen experience. He was joined by Ryan Kennedy, a chef from Brigaid. Bethlehem had chosen to learn how to make two dishes:
- Kale and romaine Caesar's salad with yogurt.
- A lo mein dish with tofu and carrots.
After a short presentation, the chefs separated into groups. Kennedy had one kitchen worker peeling carrots while another boiled pasta. Meanwhile, Anthony demonstrated proper chiffonade knife technique to cut the lettuce, then donned latex gloves to show how to mix the salad by hand.
Claire Groudine, Bethlehem's food services director, said she was thrilled the district had a chance to learn new meals and practice some scratch cooking.
"I jumped right on board," she said. "I want my staff to see the feasibility of being able to get stuff like this prepared in one day."
Emily Thornton, a food service worker, said she found the training helpful. Apart from new knife techniques, she also learned how to put on double gloves to work on hot foods without getting burned. She also learned that tofu can be served cold, and that if you slice a carrot down the middle, it makes it more efficient to peel carrot ribbons. "I loved that," she said.
After several hours of preparations, the new dishes were ready for the first lunch period. Salad was put out on the serving line, while the tofu dish was placed in cups and given out as samples. A board was placed in the lunchroom, and students were given stickers and encouraged to choose: "love it," "like it" or "it's OK."
While the salad did not garner many comments, the tofu lo mein earned accolades, with most students choosing "love it."
"It's really good - I like it," said Rowan Mazeau, a sophomore who said he'd be happy to eat it as a meal.
Another student thought it made a better side than a main dish.
Added Meg Walston, a junior: "I'm scared of tofu, but I like the dressing. Mostly it's good. We need some healthy options."
Regional Roots plan to hold at least 70 trainings in the next year, with the expectations of continuing the opportunity for at least the next five years. To apply, contact farm2school@nysed.gov. You can get more information about Regional Roots at bit.ly/4vuQhUH .