6 minute read
CAMPUS CUISINE
In the pre-dawn hours, before students have even contemplated crawling out of their beds, large trucks containing crates of fresh food habitually park outside Gideon Welles Dining Commons.
Still-warm bagels, cooked earlier that morning by Bagelicious in Cheshire; boxes of fruit; and canisters of coffee, flour, and pasta are ferried through the side entrance by coat-clad delivery men and women.
A number of food service staff bustle in the kitchen, mixing fresh fruit with plain yogurt to create parfaits, frying hash browns and sausages, and combining granola with nuts and raisins. “We scratch-cook almost everything,” said Food Service Director for SAGE Dining Services Keith Garfield. A chef with over 20 years experience, Garfield was trained by Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine now host of Food Network series Restaurant: Impossible. “Nearly everything we serve is made on premises. Even our dressings are made here on site.”
With over 500 people on campus to feed each day, that’s harder than it sounds. The staff makes 90 gallons of homemade stock—vegetable and chicken—each weekend as a base for soup. “We get as much produce within the seasons as we can that’s local. We even try to get milk locally,” said Garfield.
Homemade stocks combined with produce such as zucchini, squash, and peppers coming in daily from local suppliers leaves a flavorful impression on diners, not to mention the points for sustainability. Next on the eco-friendly menu? Garfield hopes to start an on-campus compost pile and herb garden for the fall of 2017.
Beyond fresh ingredients and homemade basics, SAGE tries to balance food favorites with variety, all while keeping in mind allergies and food insensitivities. “We have three cycle menus: our spring menu, our fall menu, and our winter menu,” said Garfield. “In the winter we want to have more stews and hardier foods. Come springtime we want to try and get more of the local vegetables and more grilled items and lighter dishes. People tend to eat a lot lighter in the spring.”
However, the world is filled with food, and the discerning students of Cheshire Academy can’t be expected to confine their dining to one location, no matter how varied the menu. To switch things up, the Academy sometimes brings outside restaurants to campus. At least twice a year, food trucks flock to campus for the Fall and Spring festivals, organized by the Office of Community Life. Funnel cakes, gourmet cupcakes, and traditional ice cream are just some of the specialty trucks that have parked near Slaughter Field to complement the various carnival-style games and bouncy houses.
Food is often an integral part of Community Life events for students. That’s one reason why, for the past two years, a new option has been added to the annual International Community Weekend agenda: Faculty-Hosted Dinners. During this weekend of international celebration, which features cultural food fairs and performances, students elect to attend one of several dinners hosted by faculty in their homes. Each faculty member serves a meal representing cuisine from a specific country.
-Julie Anderson
More than just experiencing the food and traditions of different cultures, however, eating a home-cooked meal around a table brings faculty and students together. “These dinners foster conversations and multicultural interactions. We come together with open minds and leave with a better understanding of each other,” said Languages Teacher Leo Hiertz, whose menu drew inspiration from his Argentinian roots. “It’s a meaningful experience welcoming students into my home with my family, where I can share my culture through a traditional home-cooked meal.”
History Teacher Eric Sacco ’03 took inspiration for his gourmet dinner this year from France. “The experience of fine cuisine [...] relies on tantalizing not just the palate, but also sight and smell,” said Sacco. The three hour six course meal was “typical of a family-style meal in France,” and was comprised of French staples such as béchamel sauce, duck, and profiteroles. For Sacco, watching students news flavors is part of the experience. “One year, a student hadn’t had soup in almost a decade! Watching him eat – and enjoy! – for the first time as a young adult was a great moment.”
While International Community Weekend may arrive just once a year, opportunities for making memories centered on food last throughout the year for Cheshire Academy students. This semester, students in Science Teacher Kathryn Cotter’s IB Environmental Systems & Societies course taste-tested high-protein chips made out of crickets as part of a lesson exploring sustainable farming practices. The “chirps,” as they’re called, may not be as delicious as a rib eye steak, but their production uses 2,000 times less water per pound than beef and they have a better protein to fat ratio. “At first I thought they were normal chips,” said Veronika Cibulkova ’18. “I really liked the taste. I think I’m going to order them on Amazon.”
Not all edible experiences at the Academy are so experimental. In the dorm, students might be invited to participate in a Harry Potter party complete with (non-alcoholic) butterbeer or a popcorn-fueled movie night courtesy of Dorm Heads. English Teacher and Dorm Parent Corin Porter organized an inter-dormitory “fright night” for Halloween one year. “There was candy, soda, popcorn - the usual movie theater fare,” said Porter, “It was a lot of fun.” It’s these moments, centered around food and friends, that make dormitories feel like home for students and faculty alike.
The last few years, the Cheshire Academy community has come to enjoy a tasty new tradition: the New England lobster and clam bake, held annually at the final community seated dinner. This meal is always a foodie favorite.
Associate Head of School for Academic Affairs Julie (Denomme) Anderson remembers leaving her Motter apartment door ajar near the common area as the girls watched “The OC” together. “I was a baker, so I’d bake a lot, and the girls were always in and out,” said Anderson. “There were always desserts.” Raising two daughters in the dorm led to lots of bonding over food between the Anderson family and dorm residents. Students could sign up to join Anderson and her children for dinner around the dining room table—whether that dinner was homemade mac and cheese or Chinese take-out. “Food was a big part of what we did.”
In particular, Anderson remembers how the girls would make evenings special for her own daughter, Jenna, by bringing stuffed animals by for dinner parties. Now, when Anderson speaks with her former students they ask, “Do you remember the stuffed animal club?” Of course she does, because to Anderson, they were family. “For me and for them, the dinners created a sense a family. It felt like an extended family.”
The relationships created over the many meals at Cheshire Academy are part of what all alumni remember when thinking back on their time at the Academy. From dinners with advisors and dorm parents to inventive meals created in the dining commons, the campus cuisine options always sends the students home well-fed.
MENU
Dr. Sacco's French-inspired International Faculty Dinner Menu
PÔTAGE DU BARRY
Cream of Cauliflower soup with housemade garlic-black pepper croutons
COQUILLES SAINT-JACQUES MORNAY
Poached scallops with a gruyère béchamel sauce, kale, and onion rings
CANARD BORDELAIS
Seared rare magret of duck with shitake mushroom and rosemary risotto bordelaise sauce
BOEUF EN CHEVREUIL
Sirloin of beef marinated en chevreuil with pommes frites and salad
ASSIETTE DE FROMAGE
Three french cheeses served with imported French honey
PROFITEROLES CHOCOLATES
Housemade choux buns with chantilly cream and fresh chocolate syrup
