Haute lunch ladies: Denver chefs infiltrate Denver Public Schools

Vegetable cacciatore? Check. Lemon roasted chicken with pesto? Consider it done. While chicken nuggets will likely remain the most popular choice among the elementary school set, cafeteria staff at Denver Public Schools are learning how to prepare finer foods for students who will again fill cafeterias this fall. Chefs from...

By Nick Lucchesi

July 23, 2010

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Vegetable cacciatore? Check.

Lemon roasted chicken with pesto? Consider it done.

While chicken nuggets will likely remain the most popular choice among the elementary school set, cafeteria staff at Denver Public Schools are learning how to prepare finer foods for students who will again fill cafeterias this fall.

Chefs from Denver restaurants are in the midst of a three-week program with Denver Public Schools called "Back to the Future with Scratch Cooking," which aims "to improve DPS's school meal programs by eliminating more processed food items and cooking with produce from school gardens, when available."

Westword photo intern Johnny Molfetta was at Henry World School this week for its "raw meats class" and brings back these photos. Chef Adam Fisher, formerly of Project Angel Heart, was the visiting chef.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.