How is food prepared at WASNJ?

The keyword for this month should be the Thai-cuisine Festival here at WASNJ. Everyone is a big fan of Thai-style fried rice, and Pad Thai Soup are also amongst the most popular.

This is another food event designed by the School’s kitchen team following other delicate plans such as pink cake for Women’s Day, Children’s Day Lunchbox, etc. Creativities on the menu keeps students campus life comfortable.?

How is the feast produced? Today we dive into the kitchen and have learnt a lot from the Executive Chef of the team.

Prior to taking the role as the Executive Chef here at WASNJ, Mr. Fu had been working as the Head Chef responsible for business class and first class meals provision of an airline company in the middle east. Being considerate about different food culture for customers with various backgrounds is part of his job, which also contributes his knowledge of global food and culture diversity. While the company’s high demand on food quality and safety has resulted in the Chef’s high expectations on cuisine management.

Mr. Fu summarizes principals regarding the kitchen management here at WASNJ：inventory management,heating control,food organization,heat preservation,48hrs food sample.

First principal to the kitchen SOP at WASNJ is about inventory management. Calculation on daily food order and consumption has to be as accurate as possible in order to not create waste but also ensure the quality of food ordered.

For team back of the house, their work begins at 5:30am processing all kinds of ingredients ordered in order to make sure everyone served on time.

The second principal is about heating control. “There are two temperature benchmarks always needed to bear on mind. Those below 5 degree Celsius and those above 60 degree Celsius, since these two creates no possibilities for bacteria to survive.?

Heating control is also key to the flavor. Best heating for beef should be no less than 90 degree Celsius while for chicken 80 degree celsius as a way to keep them tender. Thanks to the advanced cooking facilities which makes accurate heating control achievable.

Mr. Fu told us that the configuration of kitchen facilities at WASNJ is comparable to that of international airlines. "Our western cuisine takes a large portion on the menu, which has been considered when purchasing kitchen hardware equipment. For example, the all-purpose steaming and roasting oven that can heat up quickly can steam, roast and fry at the same time, ensuring meat tastes crispy outside and tender inside. The grill makes all kinds of western dishes. And the imported German rice steamer ensures the fragrance of the rice and can cook various types of rice. Generally, there are only 8 such steamers in service for international airlines, but we have 6, and the configuration is quite high.”

Mr.Fu’s experience in airline meals is also very applicable to school catering. For example, airline meals need to be bone-free and thorn-free in order to avoid accidents, and children's diets also need to be. Airline meals also pay special attention to food allergy. Two types of allergens, such as peanuts and sesame seeds, are resolutely avoided. Customized food window can be found at the dining hall of the school. And the School collected the allergy history of every child enrolled. Customized meals are provided for those in need every day. Provided with health and safety, everyone can enjoy their meal at the School.

Grilled beef brisket with tomato, Japanese-style teriyaki chicken, crispy duck legs, scalloped fish, butter Cajun drumsticks, fried duck breast with black pepper sauce, Mexican chicken rolls... The menu made by the kitchen goes endless. What is the TOP1 in your mind?

In fact, each menu is initially drawn up by Chef Fu and his team based on the seasonal dishes, and then would be reviewed by the nutritionist. On each menu, there is a nutrition analysis section, including protein, fat, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, energy and other elements contained and their ratio of daily energy production.

Each menu contains 2 types of meat, 2 types of vegetarian, 2 types of soups, starches, noodles, desserts, and specialties. Such a rich provision is to ensure that children get enough nutrition in their daily intake. Moreover, chefs will also make subtle adjustments to the kindergarten menu. For example, for a shrimp dish, primary and secondary school students eat normal shelled shrimp, but for kindergarten kids, shrimps are served without shells and heads. While for a fish dish, the primary and secondary school students can obtain the garlic steamed fish, but the offer to kindergarten kids is the tomato steamed fish.

Considering the diverse background of teachers and students is another reason, since being able to eat food with authentic flavor everyday is also a source of happiness.

How to ensure the authentic flavor? Mr. Fu's 5 years professional experience in serving international airline meals is essential. "Coconut flour, basil leaves, lemongrass in Thai food, curry, high yogurt in Indian food, tomato juice, cheese in Italian food, etc. When you know about different cuisine culture, you will understand where the authenticity comes from. Western cuisine is particular about sauces, and the taste will be pure if the ingredients are correct and enough. Just like Sichuan cuisine should be spicy, the local people would never be mean when it comes to ingredients.” Chef Fu explained.

In addition to the main meal, dessert is another highlight in WASNJ’s meal time. Currently, our kitchen team has recruited two pastry chefs. Both have been making desserts for the InterContinental Hotel for 12 years. One of the pastry chefs even managed to keep no duplication of desserts on the menu for a month!

At each school open day, our desserts please the taste buds of many prospective parents, not to mention teachers and students who enjoy it every day at school. The dessert supply hides the ingenuity of the pastry chef. For example, the combination of dry and wet texture such as putting brownie and mousse together will create magic. And the combination of dark and light colors will be more eye-catching. Normally the desserts served to children come from the most central part of the production process, and the cutoffs from the production will be off the table. "Generally, cutoffs are those parts overcooked. We removed those parts on plate as a way to guarantee the nutrition served for every meal.”

Many parents may have doubts that "overeating desserts with fat and sugar is not good for children", we second this point of view. And that’s why the dessert chefs halve the amount of sugar usage in production or replace them with Chinese savory. In addition to the three main meals, children also have snacks for break both in the morning and afternoon as supplement to their daily energy.

In order to provide children with reasonable dietary nutrition, our canteen actually assumes the role of an informal learning space. In terms of simple meals, primary school students will have meals with the teachers in the main class, and middle school students will have meals with their tutors. The meal time is also the interaction time between teachers and students. Contrary to "Stop talking", mobile phones are not allowed in the cafeteria, and we hope that everyone can actively interact with others in a relaxed and authentic social environment.

The teaching team also launched an English Day activity in the cafeteria, that is, children can only speak English on the day on the activity. Recently, there are key English words related to vacation and travel on the dining table, which provides material for children to interact with the topic of "fun places you have traveled to" when eating. In addition, the primary school students also explored the theme of chocolate in the cafeteria, and experienced being a food blogger in the cafeteria, bringing the knowledge learned from books to life and feeling the charm of cooking.

"I only want my children to be healthy and happy". This is the most frequent expectation for the majority of parents. In fact, this is not a minimum requirement, but a very high standard. What’s handed over to the School are not only their children, but also parents’ trust. We hope that through this diligence in food serving, every children at WASNJ can become knowledgeable both about food and eating.