The kitchen is the heart of the home and the cafeteria at New Canaan High School is no exception. In this latest edition of the Ram Reveal, we take you behind the scenes to give you a glimpse of what makes our cafeteria so special.
Each day, more than 1,300 students pass through the NCHS cafeteria for breakfast, lunch, and grab-n-go snacks and drinks. As they do, they’re greeted warmly by Michelle Santelli, Director of Food Services for NCPS, and her dedicated staff of twelve employees. Staff members, all of whom are passionate about food and several of whom have been at the high school for 15 to 20 years, even greet students by name and get to know their food preferences.
According to Ms. Santelli: “We love what we do and we work really hard to create an environment where the kids can be fed, be comfortable, listen to music, sit with their friends, and decompress.”
When students enter the cafeteria, they’re presented with a variety of kid-friendly, healthy foods, along with a few options to satisfy the occasional sweet tooth.
For breakfast (7:30 AM-10:30 AM), students can choose from fruit smoothies, breakfast sandwiches, yogurt parfaits with homemade granola, muffins, cereals, and protein bars, as well as the best-selling bacon-egg-and cheese sandwich.
During lunch (11:00 AM-1:00 PM), students enjoy a made-to-order sandwich station offering Boar’s Head meats and cheeses and freshly baked bread. The Grill Station offers chicken tenders, hamburgers, the ever-popular buffalo chicken wraps (on special days), and grilled cheese sandwiches, and all hot meals come with a fresh fruit and a drink. The self-service salad bar is stocked daily with fresh produce from local farms. A particular crowd-pleaser is Pizza Day, held every Wednesday, with offerings as varied as buffalo chicken pizza, broccoli pizza and pizza with freshly sliced tomatoes. For dessert, students can choose from home-made chocolate chip cookies or ice cream from So-Co Creamery.
Students with food allergies have a number of gluten-free items to choose from, and students who prefer to eat vegetarian will find pasta, black bean nachos, and grilled veggie hummus wraps on offer.
As each lunch block is only 25 minutes long, Ms. Santelli has worked hard to manage the flow of the lunch line so that kids spend the majority of their time at a table eating with their friends rather than standing in line.
But with so many choices and the clock ticking, Ms. Santelli acknowledges that some students can feel overwhelmed. If that’s the case, she encourages students to ask for her personally and she will help them navigate the menu to find options that suit their preferences and dietary needs.
Finally, for students who need a quick bite before going to sports practice or an after-school activity, the cafeteria reopens from 1:15 PM to 2:30 PM for snacks and drinks.
The PFA would like to extend a sincere thank you to Director Michelle Santelli, Assistant Director Amanda Gangemi and staff members Donna Centinaro, Maria Partida, Maria (Tina) DeAngelis, Rosa Cenatiempo, Eddilen Nunez, Beatriz Mandujano, Maria (Lupita) Macias, Lourdes Mejia Carillo, Andrea Valdovinos, Martha Alvarez and Erica Corona for providing delicious and nutritious meals to our students every day.
Bon Appétit, Rams!
