Healthy School Lunch: Meet Calhoun’s Chef Bobo
At The Calhoun School in NYC, kids eat thoughtfully-cooked, fresh, nutritious food prepared and served daily (in a rather small kitchen, we might add) by Chef Bobo and his team.
Article By: Theresa DiMasi and Lisa Chernick
Why does school lunch matter? Because it can be so much more than half an hour to fuel up. Crosby and GC attend The Calhoun School in NYC, where kids eat thoughtfully-cooked, fresh, nutritious food prepared and served daily (in a rather small kitchen, we might add) by Chef Bobo and his team. Bobo understands that in addition to keeping kids healthy and well-fed, food provides essential learning opportunities: from growing and choosing ingredients, to cooking, understanding correct portion sizes, and even composting leftovers.
Watch as Crosby and GC introduce Charlotte to Chef Bobo and their school cafeteria. They’ll talk about healthy lunch, make rutabaga fries, then head up to Calhoun’s rooftop garden.
How’d they do it?
In 2002, Calhoun parents, along with Head of School Steve Nelson, brought French Culinary Institute-trained Chef Bobo to the school to overhaul its lunch program. Using a storage closet, student lounge and vending machine space, over time they built a kitchen that would become the heart of this extraordinary school lunch program. Calhoun is a working model of how to feed kids well and affordably. Over the years, several of Chef Bobo’s protégés have gone on to create lunch programs like Calhoun’s at other schools, including a Bronx charter school.
On the roof
Watch as Chef Bobo shows the kids Calhoun’s rooftop garden and how it functions as both a learning center and a source for lunchtime vegetables and herbs.
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Lisa and Charlotte Pack School Lunch
Charlotte’s favorite sandwich is a BLT – watch as she helps mom make a tasty, healthy version for school lunch. For kids who brown bag it, a healthy, favorite sandwich (or dinner leftovers packed in an insulated container) are great choices. Round out the menu with fresh, cut-up vegetables or soup, and fresh fruit.
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Chef Bobo
French Culinary Institute alum Chef Bobo, aka Robert Surles, is the Executive Chef and Director of Food Service at Calhoun. Besides running the kitchen, Chef Bobo teaches a cooking class and food politics class, runs a cooking club and has a recipes blog on the Calhoun web site. He’s the author of Chef Bobo’s Good Food Cookbook (Meredith, 2004).