Politics of Food

I was just reading a report by the AP that say's Michelle Obama's nutrition bill has stalled in congress because they would like to pay for it with food stamps. I don't really want to get into the politics of this, but rather ask the question, why do we need a bill to make food more nutritious in schools?
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100930/D9II0SF80.html

The bill would provide for leaner cuts of meat, removing unhealthy snacks from vending machines and so forth. Do we really need this? Just take the crap out! No mess, no fuss... Does it cost more to serve a 90/10 burger rather than an 80/20? Nope! Does it cost money to get rid of vending machines? Nope (unless you consider the commission from vending machines that the school get's)

I remember the day that my high school way back in 1988 put a soda vending machine on campus and how delighted we were to get it... Why did they introduce a soda machine on campus? I don't think they were thinking about our health, but rather making money off the backs of our poor nutrition. Since I am at it... when did all of this become a right rather than a privilege?

So, I am asking fellow dining director's of schools large and small, primary and secondary to just get rid of it! Renegotiate your contracts for better food! Your suppliers will acquiesce since they don't want to lose these lucrative contracts. Trust me, I have done this for Rice University and guess what? No mess, no fuss.

Come on people... get with it... our children are depending on us!
David

Ready for an Emergency?

We had a little scare last night in one of our kitchens that turned out to be quite minor. However, when was the last time you held emergency procedure training and fire extinguisher use training? If your answer is not lately, I would suggest this be done regularly. In our case, employees had been trained in the middle of August about what to do in the case of fire or an emergency and the threat became minor because of this training. Without training, it could have been worse.

Great job to the crew at the kitchen last night for containing and mitigating a potentially critical situation.
I applaude you all,
David

Have You Read?

I had an interesting and educational week in Boston this last week which was supposed to be mostly relaxing, but when you live and breath food, there is really no such thing. After filling myself for three day's with the famous cuisine of Boston such as steamers, oysters, and clam chowder, I found myself at Harvard and their bookstore of all places. When in Rome...

Visiting the huge COOP that is the bookstore, I realized that the tables out front designed to catch your attention were filled to the brim with books about food! I don't mean diet and health books necessarily, but the evolution of food and the effect on our society and culture. I like to think of myself as keeping up with the times regarding university dining, but I realized that it is time to look at the history of food to better understand the future.

Like to join me on this adventure? Here are some that I recommend...

The Botany of Desire & In Defense of Food - Michael Pollan
The end of overeating - David Kessler, MD
Catching Fire, How cooking made us human - Richard Wrangham
Student's Vegetarian Cookbook - Carole Raymond
Raising The Salad Bar - Catherine Walthers
Molecular Gastronomy - Herve This
What To Eat - Marion Nestle
The Cook's Herb Garden - Jeff Cox & Marie-Pierre Moine
Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer

Have you read any of these? Share your thoughts...

David

Besides the egg recall...

The start of the new academic year dawns a new light on health and wellness. Rice University is continuing with the mission of reducing salt, sugar, and saturated fat (3S's) which was started mid-term in the Spring of 2010. An interesting note about this exercise was that we did not inform the students, we just did it; with great success I might add.

What's new? The freshmen... I am always curious to see the reactions and comments of new freshmen each year, but specifically with the enhanced menu's and healthful options. This has become doubly important for me as my little girl just started public school and the menu's their are adequate at best. Pepperoni pizza, chicken nuggets, mac & cheese; you get the point... The aha moment was when I realized that we are providing home-style meals that do not reflect the primary school's menu's that most of our new student were used to.

The reactions have been positive and our goal is to educate or re-educate (if necessary) student dietary habits. We hope that the primary schools will help us in this endeavor so that we do not receive to much of the "damaged goods", but I fear this will be a long road of change. It can be done though. At least we have 3-4 years with these students to help them.

Around Rice:

The Baker kitchen has opened and we are eagerly awaiting the commissioning of the East Servery in January, 2011. We have published a food miles map that shows the sources of our products which I think will be a tremendous benefit towards student education and for Dining Services. We are still working on our farm project and other farm to market programs.

Have a healthy year and get involved,

David

Read at your own risk

I promised my family I would warn them about this blog with an obvious title regarding a tour I took at the Hormel pork processing plant in Austin, MN. It’s interesting that in a world of people so concerned about “food miles” and processing that many people don’t really know or want to know where the food comes from. Although I can’t divulge many things I saw do to a confidentiality agreement, I do want to say that their plant was very clean and sanitary. By the way, I was once asked by a student where beef comes from… I digress…

Hormel processes 19,500 pigs a day in just this plant. Only a fraction of the millions processed every day by all pork processing plant in America by the way. As I mentioned, the plant is extremely sanitary and USDA inspectors are at every key stage of the processing systems. It was absolutely amazing to see a whole hog at the beginning processed down to edible food ready for sale in just one day. Those products that are not smoked anyway… Give it a couple of days…

Hormel is sometimes synonymous with SPAM since it is their most popular item. Fun fact: Hawaii is the largest consumer of SPAM… Talk about a modern marvel of processing, I saw only about 4 people total that worked on the SPAM processing line. The raw SPAM is canned and sealed then cooked right in the can in the biggest oven I ever saw! After it comes out, it is labeled, packed and sent to the shelves. I just had to get a can when I got home to try it… Let’s just say I am as fond of it as I was 25 years ago (last time I ate it) when I had it with my Grandfather; who did enjoy it by the way. Anyway, this was a staple during WWII and nobody will take that away from them.

To give you an idea of the sanitary requirements, every stage of the plant we entered, we had to wash and sanitize our hands and shoes. We were given frocks and hard hats as well. (Wouldn’t want a 250 lb pig falling on our heads) Yes, we walked under and through a conveyor of carcasses. Note to self: pigs have blood too… The group I was with represented 15 self-operated food service universities and I believe most had the same reaction. We were thrust into every aspect of the plant in such a way as not too many questions were asked. By the end it was clear that Hormel had this down to a science with every aspect of the hog utilized. I can’t divulge how, but let’s just say I will never eat Jell-O again! I would recommend Hormel products as I have seen firsthand the sanitary and humane processing facility in its entirety. Products to try are the Black Forrest and Cure 81® varieties.

David

Want to know how many calories?

The FDA is seeking public input about the possibility of requiring caloric information on menus. The idea is that a restaurant with 20 or more locations; with similar menus will post caloric nutritional information on their menus; including drive-thrus.
Personally, I have an issue with this, but really can understand the reasoning. In the decades past, dining out was a luxury and an enjoyable costly excursion for most families. In this case, I don’t really see the need for caloric information because families knew that going out was not going to be as healthy as dining in. This is the reason we would go out. What’s changed? Dining out is no longer a simple pleasurable activity for many. Dining out has now become the actual source of sustenance for families on a daily basis. Although I don’t agree with this practice on so many levels, (read past blogs) I do understand that this is becoming the norm.

The point is that families are dining out 4-5 times a week or more because they are unable or unwilling to cook for themselves. I would like to believe that those unable to cook at home try to find healthy alternatives, but the motivation for those unwilling may be a bit shortsighted on their part. Dare I say a little lazy? In this case, cost is probably the driving factor and as we all know, unhealthy dining costs less.

So, if you would like to see how many 1,000s of calories you consume from just a burger, fries, and soda, please vote in the affirmative at the FDA website. If you would like to change your life; cook for your family healthily, vote “NO”, then stop by your local bookstore and educate yourself. It is easier than you think!

If you wish to comment, follow this link. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm218134.htm

David

Rice Chef’s take top honors at the Southwest Food Expo

Congratulations to four Rice University chefs who did just an outstanding job in competition. The categories they competed in were:

W- Akaushi bone in Beef Short Ribs & P-1 Hot/Warm Dessert

Chef Roger Elkhouri (CEC, ACE) took second place and a silver ACF medal while Chef Edward Castillo (CCC) took third place and a silver ACF medal; both in the (W) category. Even though we did not achieve the top spot [this time], taking two out of three of the top spots is huge! Great job…

Pastry Chef Maricela Lucciola (CWPC) and Pastry Chef Selena Rivera (CWPC) each earned a bronze medal in the (P-1) dessert category. Great job for their first competition in this challenging category…

I am often asked what makes Rice University Dining Services great and the answer is as simple as counting the medals around the necks of our 10 ACF certified chefs.

David