Check Out Some of Our Most Popular Services

We train your staff on the skills and systems it takes to cook confidently from scratch, more and more everyday!

See which of our services will best help you the most in your situation!

Collage of images showing food preparation in a kitchen, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and salads being assembled and organized, with a central text overlay reading 'The Live-Setting Approach'.

These trainings are scheduled during any regular live production day, and are completely customized to work with your equipment, in your teams everyday work environment, to meet your most urgent training needs, all during live production!

Your team will learn how to:

✅ Prepare a fully customized, scratch-cooked, whole foods–based menu that meets child nutrition guidelines—giving your staff the skills and confidence to recreate it independently in the future.

✅ Design menus that feature local ingredients, adding a Farm to School element that supports your community and gives you something meaningful to promote to students, parents, and staff.

✅ Process, prepare, and season whole foods so they not only meet nutritional standards but also look and taste great to kids—helping increase participation and reduce waste.

✅ Incorporate more fresh, whole ingredients into your everyday menus with practical, kid-approved ideas that make healthy food appealing and accessible.

When: Great thing about “Live-Setting” classes is they are the right choice to train on any regular school day. No need to wait for “PD” days, non-student days or half days for training.

Why choose “Live-Setting”:

  • You want the freedom to schedule trainings anytime you want!

  • you don't want to wait for half or off-days to train your people.

  • You want your team to learn foundational cooking skills that they will use everyday.

  • You want the satisfaction of seeing your team produce a beautiful, scratch cooked menu from start to finish then serve it to real students and get their instant feedback!

  • You want to continue collecting your valuable meal reimbursements while training.

Time Commitment: We will have a couple advanced planning meetings plus the duration of an entire workday on the day of the “Live-Setting” event. And we are with your team through the whole thing from start to finish!
Location: The school kitchen of choice. These training are intended to be inserted into an established kitchen team’s regular, everyday work environment.
More Details: Here are specific examples of this style of class:

Chef prepares a buffet with trays of cooked vegetables, salsa, and bread, along with a bowl of croutons poured with dressing, and various bowls of dips and chips on a table, illustrating the lab-setting approach to food preparation and presentation.

Sometimes the best learning happens away from the rush of service. Our “Lab-Setting” trainings create a focused, low-pressure environment where staff can practice new skills and build confidence before bringing them back to cook for the kids!

Your team will:

✅ Learn to prep, season and cook vegetables so they taste great to kids.


✅ Learn to make kid-tested and approved recipes utilizing whole, fresh food ingredients.


✅ Learn how to work more efficiently through a better understanding of recipes.


✅ Learn to season foods to achieve the “World Flavors” people love.


✅ Learn best practices for purchasing, receiving, storing, and preparation of cooked and raw meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, other ingredients used in scratch cooking.


✅ Understand salt’s critical role in cooking and how to use it wisely in a school food environment to meet regulations and make foods taste great!

When:

Best when scheduled on early release, half-days, or non-school days.

Why:

You’d like a more controlled training environment, focusing on specific skills that all staff members can participate in and benefit from.

Duration:

3-6 hours generally

Location:

Depending on the content, these trainings can be performed in a kitchen or a non-kitchen location such as a meeting room.

Collage of images from the team-builders event, including people serving food at a buffet, a close-up of mixed vegetables, people smiling in front of a serving counter, and chefs preparing baked goods.

A strong kitchen culture starts with strong connections. Our “Team-Builder” events help staff build trust, communication, and pride in their shared work of feeding kids.Its an awesome way to start off the year,  or a great way to get in the team spirit anytime of year.

We’ll focus on:

  • Collaborative cooking challenges

  • Fun, skill-building activities that strengthen teamwork

  • Encouraging respect and support across roles

  • Creating positive energy to carry back into the kitchen

When:

Best when scheduled on early release, half-days, or non-school days.

Why:

You want an event that includes the whole team, where they can:

  • Get to know each other better

  • Enjoy and opportunity for creativity

  • Learn some new skills that will benefit your program

    Duration:

  • 2-5 hours generally


    Location:

  • Depending on the content, these trainings can be performed in a kitchen or a non-kitchen location such as a cafeteria.

    Choose Team-Builder (action button)

Collage of various food dishes including grilled meat, cake with raspberries, fried rice, vegetable salad, cinnamon rolls, buffet of different dishes, salad bar, seasoned potatoes, stacked bread slices, berry-flavored ice cream, roasted vegetables, and a dessert tray, with the word 'GALLERY' written underneath.
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WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING

Six gold stars at the top of the image. A quote in the center that reads, "Wow, That was really a fantastic training session! The ideas and excitement in the High School kitchen this morning are electric! I am over the moon excited for the energy and attitudes of our staff!" Below the quote, there is a attribution to Melissa Paulus, Nutrition Service Director at Nooksack Schools.
A testimonial quote praising Kent for innovation and interpersonal skills in the Wenatchee School District, signed by Jesus Hernandez, CEO of Family Health Centers, with a background of a light wooden texture and five gold star icons at the top.
A quote on a background featuring a string of five gold stars at the top, with the quote text discussing the positive influence of Chefs Kent and Laura in a district, and the importance of their skills in assessing and managing high school kitchens. The quote is attributed to Anna M. Apolian, MPA, RD, from Norwalk-La Mirada USD.