Chef Raymond baking Pide.
— by Ashley Randall —
Last Wednesday in the public school’s cafeteria, over 300 plates went from full to empty throughout the lunch hour. Rosario Resort’s Executive Chef Raymond Southern acted as our third and final Celebrity Chef of the school year. Wearing a clean chef coat and a smile, Raymond worked alongside Chef Zach, two cooks from Rosario’s restaurant, and sixth grader Makena Silva to make this luncheon a success!
The Mediterranean-inspired menu included the following: Youvetsi (beef, orzo & tomatoes), Pide (Turkish style bread) and Ekmek (custard like dessert with a graham cracker crust). Maple Rock Farm salad greens were served with freshly chopped vegetables, feta cheese, kalamata olives, pepperoncinis, sliced tomatoes with fresh basil, grapefruit wedges and tatziki sauce.
When asked if they were enjoying their meal, students gave two thumbs up. Parents eating with their children commented on the exceptional flavor of the food served. Additionally, the wait staff from Rosario’s restaurant joined us for lunch to support “Chef” in his culinary pursuits.
Thank you again to our three local chefs, Charles Dalton, Madden Surrbaugh and Raymond Southern, for participating in the Celebrity Chef events this year. Your enthusiasm to work with our cafeteria staff to create and serve a unique lunch for our students, staff and community members is greatly appreciated! Also, thank you to our cafeteria staff, Chef Zach Holley, Bing Zhao Mowery, and Debbie Guilford, for your willingness to work with our local chefs to make these events possible.
The Celebrity Chef events are sponsored by the Orcas Island Farm to Cafeteria Program in cooperation with the Orcas Island School District. We look forward to seeing you in the cafeteria at the next one in October!
