GARLAND, Texas — In middle school, kids can find inspiration in all sorts of places -- the gym, science, even in the cafeteria lunch tray.
“It’s been a really long time since school did something so good,” said O’Banion Middle School sixth grader Isaac Johnson.
Johnson told WFAA his delight was cooked up by district chef Kevin Jenkins.
Jenkins said that, most days, kids are served a typical school lunch. But, a couple times a year, he partners with the district’s food suppliers in an effort to create gourmet meals from everyday ingredients.
“[The hope is] to give students that elevation on their palates to understand that school food can be good, and it is good,” Jenkins said.
Using canned pears a couple weeks ago, Jenkins created a gourmet breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, he made caramelized pear butter with honey butter chicken biscuits and cinnamon toast. But the real showstopper was lunch, where he made pear yakisoba, a stir-fry noodle dish with pears.
Jenkins admits such an adventurous combination can be pretty dangerous in a lunchroom filled with his harshest critics.
“It’s raw feedback,” Jenkins said. “You don’t get the political correct answer. You get the, ‘this was great,’ or ‘this wasn’t good.’”
And they definitely had thoughts about this unlikely pair.
“It sounded pretty weird to me at first,” said sixth grader Kaiden Perryman.
“It sounded off, very off,” Johnson added.
Eventually, a few kids gathered the courage to try it. After some good old "pear" pressure, the entire cafeteria ate it up.
“I tried it and then, turns out, it was amazing,” Johnson said. “One of the best school lunches I ever had in my life.”
“I took another bite to make sure I wasn’t just thinking it,” said seventh grader Isaiah Dickens.
Kids say it was the strangest thing. Not only did it give them a new outlook on healthy food, it gave them superpowers.
Sixth grader Angelo Flores told WFAA “it gave me like a lot more energy and stuff.”
Perryman said “after I ate it, it helped me breathe more when I was running in gym.”
Johnson said he did good in P.E.
The kids said they’ve never felt stronger.
Gone is any fear of fruit. Never again will a vegetable intimidate them.
But more importantly, it felt good to be appreciated and to know that lunch isn’t just food slapped on a tray.
Instead, even in the lunchroom, someone is willing to say, "you matter."
“A lot of people who can cook, they don’t go to school to cook for kids and help them eat better,” Johnson said. “He inspired people to eat better and do better with their health.”
“He made a lot of people’s day by giving them a nutritious, energy filled dish,” Flores said.
“We’re able to make a difference every single day and we can see that difference immediately,” said Jenkins.
Whether in the classroom or the cafeteria, character is always on the menu.
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