Chef Kent Getzin Consulting

03/19/2026

As an expert in K-12 culinary transformation, a dad, AND [very proud] grandpa, nothing lights my fire more than talking about improving the health of our kids through scratch cooking.

Healthy eating habits start early.

When students are served fresh, flavorful meals made from whole food ingredients, they learn what nourishing food looks and tastes like. Can you imagine what that could mean for our future on a greater scale??

03/17/2026

I'm 3 for 3! Wahoooo!

I have mentioned recently that I've been working on a recipe development project through Team Nutrition! This is a very fun project that requires me to develop five recipes.

Each recipe must:
~ Contain at least one ingredient commonly grown, raised, or caught in Washington State.
~ Incorporate the latest USDA meal pattern changes and flexibilities.
~ Significantly contribute to meeting meal pattern requirements for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) meal patterns.
~ Include all required components of a standardized recipe.
~ Be tested with students and receive at least 85% acceptance.

So the scary part is doing these taste tests with kids!

If 85% of the kids don't give the thumbs up, well then you need to reformulate and retest.

Anyway, I have tested three of my five recipes with kids! And the cool thing is, I am Three for Three!

First Test:
Indian Style Dal (basically a hearty lentil soup)

Second Test:
Avocado Toast with Tofu Scramble

Third Test:
Chilaquiles (a delicious Mexican style egg and tortilla dish mainly served at breakfast)

I want too worried about the Dal as it was so delicious to the people I tested it on prior to the student test. But... it is lentils so I was nervous!

And the survey says: 97% acceptability! Whew!

Oh no... TOFU?! Ok... let's do this thing!

And the survey says: 91% acceptability! Woah, this really blew my mind! I never expected a score that high?
..and finally the Chilaquiles:

93%!!

Anyway, I am so grateful!

Three down and two to go!

03/17/2026

Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter to get practical ideas, scratch cooking tips, and real-world solutions you can actually use! Plus Chef Kent’s hard-earned insights from the field, and maybe even a laugh or two.

🥕 Sign up here: http://bit.ly/3MrQffv

03/17/2026

Do this! It’s awesome! Everyone must serve fresh fruits and veggies from salad bars to kids in schools! It’s easier than you think! Thanks Chef Ann Foundation!

Two weeks left to apply for a Salad Bars to Schools grant! Schools nationwide can apply to receive equipment, marketing materials, and training to set up a salad bar in their cafeteria.

Salad bars offer schools tools to meet vegetable subgroup requirements, while also allowing students to incorporate fruits, grains, and proteins to create their own reimbursable meals. They serve as a pathway to pivot away from ultraprocessed foods and provide more fresh, whole foods in school meals.

To learn more and apply, visit:https://ow.ly/JypC50YsmTb.

03/12/2026

The biggest shift I see during trainings isn’t just on the trays. It’s in staff confidence. When teams feel capable, everything changes 💪

Loved working with these ladies at Siloam Springs School District !

03/10/2026

Wondering what it actually takes to transition your school's food service program to scratch cooking? Well, we wrote a blog just for you!

Most directors already know that scratch cooking in schools is a better long-term solution, but knowing and implementing are two very different things. We’re posting a 3-part series this month that walks you through what it actually takes to make the switch.

The blog 👉 https://bit.ly/4ry8m1J

03/09/2026

Who needs a dance floor when you've got a kitchen floor 🕺

These are short snippets from a training video for in Phoenix, AZ where I teach how to cook teriyaki chicken & fried rice from scratch in a school food setting. So many good nuggets in here to make the process smoother for staff and yummier for kids!

03/05/2026

Giving students access to fresh fruits and vegetables through salad bars encourages exploration, independence, and healthier choices. Plus, it's fun!

It also requires thoughtful planning behind the scenes to ensure:
✅️ safe service
✅️ manageable prep
✅️ minimal waste.

When done well, salad bars become a super valuable tool for improving nutrition and student participation.

03/03/2026

Here’s what real change looks like in your kitchens, on student trays, and across your team.

If you’ve been wondering whether scratch cooking is possible in your school district, you’re not alone! Most teams I work with started in the exact same place: wanting better food for their students, but unsure how to get there.

I promise it's more doable than you think!

02/27/2026

Had a great day last week baking with the team from Mary M Knight school near Elma, WA!

During my trainings, of course we use recipes to make everything but the primary focus is not learning a new recipe.  Most important thing is to learn the skill or skills that are used in the recipe. 

Once you understand the cooking skills then actually making the recipe will be much easier!

Not only that, but cooking will gradually get easier in general because you’re actually building up a knowledge base of useable skills that will serve you in all your cooking.

Here are a few pics of the action!

See you in the kitchen!

02/20/2026

Mmm…. Oven Roasted Beef Picadillo!

In my last post, one of the pictures was of raw, beef picadillo ready for the oven and it received a lot of questions so I thought I would talk about it a bit here

Beef Picadillo is a classic Latin American and Filipino comfort food consisting of ground beef with veggies, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spices.

Recipes vary widely depending on the region you’re in, and can be used in so many easy and delicious ways!

Taco filling, Nachos, simply served over rice, breakfast burritos, baked potato filling. Sooo many things!

I’m including a few pictures from my recent “Live-Setting” Trainings, and the recipe, also!

When you make this using my oven roasting method, it is really smart cooking! This technique is designed for batch cooking and benefits so much from the hot oven roasting!

The trick is to roast it very hot 425-450 degrees. This develops amazing caramelization that you just can’t get in tilt skillet plus if you don’t use it all, you haven’t cooked it yet so it’s easy to freeze and use next week.

One thing that is a bummer, though… you won’t get that steamy taco meat scented facial you so look forward to every week when cooking over the tilt skillet. 🤣😜😕

That’s it let me know how it goes! I’d love to hear your comments, questions and pictures if you try make it!

You ROCK, and thank you for doing this important work of feeding kids well in our nation’s schools!

11/12/2025

Azusa USD is really rock’n it! Check out this video about their excellent school meals program!

Way to to Azusa team!!

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CH3LbivJS/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Behind every healthy student is a dedicated team! 🍎 We're proud to showcase the incredible work of the AUSD Nutrition Services team, who prepare and serve d...