Wellness in the Schools

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Zak Pelaccio and P.S. 3

July 20, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

School Food Watch:3


photo by Jeff Scott

Zak is a graduate of The FCI, celebrated owner of The Fatty Crab and its siblings, and father of a kid at PS 3. Just like Bill Telepan he got involved in the cafeteria. And PS 3 is part of the Wellness in the Schools program.

PS 3 had something special though. This school had an empty science lab and a dynamic principal who wants to start allowing the teachers to teach cooking as part of their curriculum. Zak called me and asked if we could help out. We loved the idea! Phil Gutensohn, our Director of Placement and the Executive Director of The FCI (Future Chefs Initiative) is spearheading our school’s effort to help this program train the teachers, work with them on curriculums and set a template for other schools to follow.

The first historic meeting took place on the last days of school in June and the steering committee is raring to go. I will keep you posted on the evolution of this project.

Zak and the steering committee, photo by Jeff Scott

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Wellness in the Schools

July 10, 2010 in Uncategorized | No comments

School Food Watch: 1



There is a terrific chef in New York City named Bill Telepan. His restaurant, Telepan is one of the best in the city. Bill has a kid in the New York City school system and with his generous heart he went to the school to see if he could help make the cafeteria better. He met a dynamic teacher, Nancy Easton, who shared his mission. Together they started a program called Wellness in the Schools.

The premise started simple and small. Bill went into the kitchen on a regular basis to see what foods the staff had to work with and helped them come up with delicious menus. His manner was so jovial and helpful that he was accepted and the program was a success. Today there are 20 schools that have been “adopted” by chefs or restaurants that are sending in helpers to the cafeteria. The FCI has adopted P.S. 126 in Chinatown and this September we will begin working with the principal and kitchen staff to see how we can bring our expertise to making more delicious food. We are so excited!  So stay tuned….I will be blogging about this!

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