The Child Nutrition Team at the Maine Department of Education (DOE) has set forth on a campaign to encourage schools to utilize fresh products the state of Maine offers in their school meal programs. The initiative, “Farm and Sea to School” brought in experts of cooking and agriculture to create videos on various recipes that use fresh ingredients grown or caught right here in Maine.
Rob Dumas from the University of Maine School of Food and Agriculture was featured making several different recipes, including a bean burrito bowl and lentil shepherd’s pie. Dumas is the Food Science Innovation Coordinator at the University of Maine and a certified executive chef with the American Culinary Federation.
Jeff Wolovitz from Heiwa Tofu in Rockport demonstrated how to make a crispy tofu recipe. Mike Flynn, head of School Nutrition at RSU 12, with the assistance of Food Corps service member Maggie Blumenthal made a crunchy baked fish. Annie Watson, co-owner of Sheepscot Valley Farm in Whitefield, made “Mac and Trees”- a healthy spin on a classic meal. Finally, Caitlin Frame from Milkhouse Farm and Creamery in Monmouth created a Waldorf Chicken Salad with a healthy yogurt replacement to the traditional mayonnaise-filled recipe.
All of the chefs demonstrated how to use fresh ingredients to create healthy and nutritious meals. Throughout their videos, they also teach the audience various cooking skills, including food safety, several knife skills, tricks for keeping your workspace tidy, and many other kitchen hacks.
Information in this article is just a snippet of what these amazing chefs show in their videos. Check out the playlist below for some new recipes and skills to try out! For more information contact Robin Kerber, Maine DOE Farm and Sea to School Coordinator at 207-592-0820 or Robin.Kerber@maine.gov.