Kayla Everett

Senior Megan Reilly eats her school lunch of chicken fingers and french fries. “I buy my lunch everyday, and it looks more appetizing. It no longer looks fake,” she said.

Parkway’s resident chef Dan Flick is cooking up new recipes and concepts for student nutrition. Fresh, home-cooked style meals are hitting student lunch trays in Parkway elementary schools and Parkway Central middle in preparation for an overhaul of Parkway’s Food Services.

According to Principal Jeremy Mitchell, parent complaints were stacking up regarding the quality of the food served to students, including the chicken patty that was more of a compilation of unknown chicken parts and miscellaneous preservatives rather than a piece of real chicken. Students complained about the sensory experience – the smell, look and texture — of the food. The quality of school lunches led more students to buy prepackaged foods or brown-bag their lunches which deprived Parkway of income and students of a hot lunch.

“The food was nutritious, but very unappealing. I have tried to teach the staff that people eat with their eyes. We have focused on the “Main Thing” – good appearance, good flavor, good nutrition,” chef Dan Flick said.

Flick is the answer to the problem of food quality in the district. His culinary career began in Madison Square Garden in New York and he has worked in several high-end restaurants in his 25 years of being a chef. He is currently an instructor at L’Ecole Culinaire, which gives him the skills to teach others in food service the cooking techniques necessary to replicate his dishes.

“I wanted to bring my experience from the food industry into the schools. It is a challenge for me and I wanted to make a difference in the children’s lives, by serving food that was nutritious, but also good looking and good tasting. It is a process and it doesn’t happen overnight. We work at it every day and slowly but surely, we are making a difference,” Flick said.

The district is one of the last in the St. Louis area that still controls its own food. Flick’s presence brings healthier and tastier options into schools, including items like black bean brownies and southwest chicken salad.

“It is becoming more of a trend in the schools to bring in chefs. It makes a lot of sense [to] bring that quality and experience with food to the schools,” Flick said.

Along with new recipes, Flick has helped end the system of Parkway high schools cooking for surrounding middle and elementary schools. The food that was served in most of the schools ended up being cold and reheated by lunchtime, and canned vegetables and fruits were used to save time in preparation.

Flick would like a district garden to provide fresh produce to schools.

“Gardens are a great tool. It gets the children involved in their own food. If you grow something, then you are more likely to try it. Once you try it, you are hooked and then the children are eating healthy. I am trying to have fresher produce in the schools, [in a] Farm to School [program]. Having vegetables bagged and frozen [allows] the schools to microwave them and then they are cooked fresh for each school, like steam-fresh veggies you buy in the grocery stores,” Flick said.

The changes influenced by Chef Flick have already begun to be noticed.

“The chicken patties have been really good lately. You can pull them apart and it looks like real chicken. A lot of the food doesn’t look like plastic anymore, and I see more fruits and vegetables replacing slushies and hamburgers,” senior Kemone Lindo said.

Parkway students’ warm reception is reaching past the cafeteria and extending to Flick himself.

“So far the best experience has been working with the staff and the children. I love to see the children’s smiling faces and talk with them about the food. I recently received a fan letter from a third grader at Green Trails. I was very humbled by this appreciative letter; it is hanging in my office and it will always have a place on my wall,” he said.