District’s Guest Chef Program brings fun and flavor to students’ lunches

When Food Service Director Peter Wynne recently joined Indian Hill Exempted Village School District in Cincinnati, Ohio he knew he wanted to not only find a way to introduce himself to other faculty and staff, but also get them involved with the Aramark nutrition team at the district’s high school.

“I just wanted a way to connect with the faculty and staff and get to know them and build some excitement around our food service, because we have a very good food service at the high school,” he says.

Wynne landed on a Guest Chef Program where faculty and staff from different departments in the district are invited to choose a signature dish that is then served to students during lunch.

The program, which just started in January, has been a hit with students and Wynn is planning on expanding it to reach more kids this fall.

Finding the guest chefs

When reaching out to potential guest chefs, Wynne simply introduces himself and asks if they would like to participate. So far, every faculty member Wynne has approached has not hesitated to get involved.

The guest chefs can choose a signature dish that they’re known for making, or, if they are not as familiar with the kitchen, they simply choose a menu item they enjoy eating.

“I've had people who don't cook, and they're like, ‘I don't cook at all, but I like lasagna,’” said Wynne. “So, then we get a recipe for lasagna out of our database, and then we prepare it, and then we have the schedule, and we plaster flyers everywhere.”

During the featured lunch service, the faculty member then joins the nutrition team in the kitchen to help out and serve their dish to students.  

Wynne tries to feature faculty and staff from different departments. Just last school year, he’s had the athletic directors, drama teachers, a principle and one of the art instructors all participate.

“Everybody kind of got to see their kind of mentor hero,” he says.

Expanding in the fall

The program originally only occurred once a month, but the team quickly started offering it every two weeks and then every week due to its popularity.

“The kids come in and they take selfies with the administrator or teacher, and it's just been really well received,” says Wynne.

Already, faculty are approaching Wynne to see if they can be a guest chef this upcoming school year.

When the new school year starts, the team will go back to featuring the program bi-weekly before increasing its frequency again. “We need to get our feet underneath us,” Wynne says. The program will also be coming to the district’s middle school as well.

Wynne recommends that operators looking to start something similar at their district start slow and build the program up over time.

“It sounds really hard, but just start off doing it once a month,” he says. “And if it doesn't go so well, tweak it. But I think, I don't think you're going to have any problems. It's just been a win, win for everybody.”