Jul 26, 2019

School cooks gather for culinary program

Montana Cook Fresh Summer Institute July 29-Aug. 2 in Bozeman

MONTANA LIVING — School may be out, but the cooks are going to class.

Twenty food service directors and head cooks from school districts across the state of Montana will gather at Montana State University the week of July 29 for the Montana Cook Fresh Summer Institute, a management and culinary class.

school cooks attend summer school at Montana Cook Fresh Summer Institute, Montana Living,

Goals of the institute including sharpening participants’ knowledge and skills on a variety of management topics from procurement through service; enhancing food production and culinary skills; helping participants to incorporate more “from scratch” meals using USDA foods, fresh and local foods; and increasing understanding of merchandising, behavioral cues, farm to school and school wellness policy. Individuals who complete the institute are eligible to receive 30 professional development continuing education hours.

A few of the from scratch recipes that will be prepared at the institute include rockin’ lentil salad, roasted garbanzo beans, Treasure State sloppy joes, three sisters soup and strawberry spinach salad.

The school cooks are from school districts in Belgrade, Billings, Bozeman, Browning, Choteau, Charlo, Clancy, East Glacier, Eureka, Hamilton, Hardin, Lame Deer, Libby, Melstone, Rapelje, Roberts, Roy, St. Ignatius, Troy and Wolf Point, according to Katie Bark, director of Montana Team Nutrition.

The institute starts at 12:30 p.m. Monday, July 29, and concludes at noon Friday, Aug. 2. The majority of the institute will be held in MSU’s Hannon Hall.

The institute is sponsored by Montana Team Nutrition – a program based in the MSU College of Education, Health and Human Development that provides nutrition education and training in schools – the Montana Office of Public Instruction School Nutrition Programs and Montana No Kid Hungry.

Funding is provided by a 2017 USDA Team Nutrition Training Grant and the Montana No Kid Hungry program.More information is available at https://tofu.msu.montana.edu/cs/cook_fresh_2019/. To learn more about Montana Team Nutrition, visit http://www.montana.edu/teamnutrition/.