Maine DOE Partners with Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition and RSU 14 to Host School Nutrition Staff Training

On February 18 and 19, Chef Patrick Garmon from the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition and Chef Ryan Roderick from RSU 14 joined the Maine Department of Education (DOE) Child Nutrition Team to provide in-depth training to school nutrition staff in Maine.

Over these two days of training in

Augusta, 35 participants divided their time between hands-on training in the Maine DOE culinary classroom and traditional classroom learning.

In the culinary classroom, participants focused on vegetable preparation methods, proper food handling, food safety, and efficient use of equipment. Time in the classroom was spent learning about organizational techniques to maximize efforts, as well as better ways to market food to students by optimizing their serving lines and making foods served look more appealing.

The event was a wonderful opportunity for the Maine DOE to collaborate with the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition and local school administrative units (SAUs) to provide cutting-edge and practical training for Maine school nutrition staff. The Maine DOE Child Nutrition Team hopes to provide similar opportunities in the future.

To learn more about the resources and training opportunities provided by the Maine DOE Child Nutrition Team, please visit the team’s webpage or contact the team.