The wholesome chef: Jim Rowan, food service director of two northwest school districts, on feeding students quality meals.

The wholesome chef: Jim Rowan, food service director of two northwest school districts, on feeding students quality meals. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern NATIVE JIM JimMiss Watson’s runaway slave; Huck’s traveling companion. [Am. Lit.: Huckleberry Finn]See : Escape ROWAN IS PASSIONATE ABOUT FOOD. Aself-taught chef, Rowan switched last summer from culinary director atGonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., to food service director atAstoria (Ore.) School District and Naselle-Grays River Valley (Wash.)School District, which use Chartwells as their food service provider.Rowan serves fruits and vegetables regularly and uses chicken raisedwithout antibiotics. Rowan "came to us with a passion forsustainable living Sustainable living might be defined as a lifestyle that could, hypothetically, be sustained without exhausting any natural resources. The term can be applied to individuals or societies. ," says Caroline Nelson, a Chartwellsspokeswoman. Q What made you switch from college food service to K12? A: It was a challenge for me. Every bit of K12 is different.It's about cents per plate as opposed to dollars per plate inhigher education higher educationStudy beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. . Of course, coming out of restaurants and hotels,everything is retail priced. Here you are set with a price you need towork with and work backwards. You work with the best products you canget and the most local you can get. The cost of food is a challenge, andit's a great exercise to put it all together on a regular basis. What is your philosophy on food? My philosophy is really about serving balanced meals and teachingstudents to eat in a balanced manner. Chartwells provides training andgreat tools for our food service directors, chefs and cooks toaccomplish this. I believe it is our duty to not only feed our studentswith the healthiest food but to educate them on how it is grown and howfar away it comes from to reach that lunch line. Tell us more about your dishes. I will get a parent every now and then saying, "My son hadthis for lunch and I'm curious--what was that?" They areinterested. In March, it was Mediterranean focus month and we madechicken cacciatore Noun 1. chicken cacciatore - chicken casserole prepared with tomatoes and mushrooms and herbs in the Italian stylechicken cacciatora, hunter's chickenchicken casserole - chicken cooked and served in a casserole and turkey and ham paella, and we modified what istraditionally found in such dishes. For example, the chicken cacciatoredish we make is a lot more basic than what you'd normally see. Thetypical recipe uses whole breast of chicken, noodles noo��dle?1?n.A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water.[German Nudel. , parmesan cheese.In our case, we use the commodity-diced chicken and make it more of acasserole style, using commodity protein. And you use what's available. I would not substitute tomatoes,for example--that's not something you put in a recipe unless youlive in Florida or San Diego. I wouldn't include an item on themenu that is out of season, with less flavor, and that comes fromhalfway across the world. Moving forward, I will use more protein-rich grains or plantprotein, like beans, legumes LegumesA family of plants that bear edible seeds in pods, including beans and peas.Mentioned in: Cholesterol, Highlegumes (l , tofu tofuSoft, bland, custardlike food product made from soybeans. Believed to date from China's Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), tofu is today an important source of protein in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia. or quinoa quinoa(kēnwä`), tall annual herb (Chenopodium quinoa) of the family Chenopodiaceae (goosefoot family), whose seeds have provided a staple food for peoples of the higher Andes since pre-Columbian times. , which has a huge amount ofprotein. How do you prepare your meals? We make anywhere from three and six scratch meals a month. Ofcourse, by scratch I mean we're still using canned sauce, but yes,they are not just coming out of a box to the tray. Our students arebecoming much more involved, and they want to know where their food iscoming from--how it's processed and how it's grown. www.DistrictAdministration.com Read more on Jim Rowan's success. Brian D. Wallace is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. INTERVIEW BY ANGELA PASCOPELLA