What’s a vegetable that starts with the letter ‘A”?
When kids at Anna L. Klein School in Guttenberg were asked this question recently, they gave a host of answers.
A second grader said avocado, but school food services chef Zach Fitch told them an avocado is a fruit because of its huge seed.
Onion was another guess from a second grader, but then the student remembered it doesn’t start with an “A.”
Second grader Anjoli Rivera-Rachelski gave an impressive answer, “artichoke,” and won a chef’s hat.
Chef Piper McDermott explained, “Maschio’s started Chef’s Day to teach groups to cook healthy, and to show students and staff different options to choose from.”
Maschio’s, the food service provider for Guttenberg, has been holding Chef’s Day every day this month at a different school in New Jersey.
First grader Gustavo Soto got the answer, avocado, and scored a blue chef’s hat.
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Among the options was chicken fajitas with rice, beans, and corn, with a whole wheat tortilla made by Fitch and McDermott.
Students from first to eighth grade participated in the cooking demonstration and trivia questions for rewards during their lunch period. The idea was to teach them about healthy eating and preparation.
Students like first grader Patrick Dort, 6, enjoyed their chicken fajitas and sides. “It’s good!” he said.
Most students’ favorite part was the rice and beans. But they also loved the trivia.
“What’s the main ingredient in guacamole?” asked a chef.
One child responded with a thought instead of an answer: “My mommy loves guacamole. I don’t know what it is, but she squishes it down.”
First grader Gustavo Soto got the answer, avocado, and scored a blue chef’s hat.
Fitch said he had fun thinking of trivia questions, because he plays games like food trivia with his young daughter. “The demonstration benefits the lunch ladies and other chefs here too,” he said, “by showing them products and techniques.”