Experience Food Project Logo

The logo shown above is the new Experience Food Project logo. The heart shaped radish in the middle was part of a thank you letter from an elementary school student. The picture drawn in the thank you letter was a fruit and vegetable person with a heart shaped radish for a head.

Whitney Niebeling and Stephanie Barnes

Cooking with the School

This school year, students from cooking classes have had the opportunity to work with the high school kitchen staff during their regular class period to gain commercial kitchen cooking experience. We did a quick survey with some of the students involved regarding their feelings for the program and whether or not they were enjoying the experience they were getting by helping prepare food for school lunches. Most of the students really have enjoyed helping in the kitchen and many of them see it as a different experience than the normal cooking class. Students felt that working in the kitchen, mostly doing prep-work, felt that it was easier yet more fast paced when compared to cooking in their classroom or at home. One student described the difference by mentioning that the larger kitchen was intimidating but also enjoyable. Many students strengthened the knife skills they had already been taught in the Culinary Arts class and all students helping got to feel what it's like to cook for many people. Everyone interviewed, except for one student, felt that they personally benefited from working in the kitchen with a more experienced staff. The two students pictured below, Meaghan McCormick and Jenny MacDonald, had a lot of fun working in the kitchen under Chef Andy's watchful eye. They would both love to work in the kitchen again :).

Food Review

The Food Crew

One groggy morning while sitting in Creative Writing II Toni and I came up with a genius plan to get out of boring grammar work and score free food for our friends. We decided make a project and to have real life students review the new lunch program at Friday Harbor High School, The Experience Food program. One week, five students tested out our new food program and gave us the bold truth on school lunches.

Richard Ochoa- Overall enjoyed all the food. Every day he came up with little changes that would make the meal more enjoyable. He goes home for lunch every day so getting an outsider's opinion really helped. He loved all the food and would participate in getting lunch every day if it didn’t mess with his tight budget. His favorite was the Greek Chicken Gyro. He thought that it was messy but definitely worth getting his hands dirty. He thought the food was light and favorable, and every meal smelled great and was hearty.

BharathKrishnnaa Rengaraju- Our exchange student from India is impressed with our new lunch program. Every day he came with a big grin and just loved the free food he was scoring. Krishnnaa's favorite meal is Bhiriyani, an Indian cuisine. He knew that the great tasting food was helping prevent homesickness, however he would definitely prefer more spices. Even without the spices Krishnnaa thought the food was five star quality.

Miklos Horvath- Our other exchange student from Hungary had not a lot to say but he did comment that the Penne pasta “seemed truly Italian.” He was pleased that every day there was something different that tasted great while being healthy.

Kyle Skoog- Kyle has lived and gone to Friday Harbor schools his whole life. So he knows what the old lunch program used to be like and it is safe to say that he does not miss the old lunches one bit. Kyle said the food “tastes great” and he actually eats lunch every day and doesn’t waste hard earned cash on snacks off campus.

Kayla Steneide- Kayla was our only vegetarian. We didn’t know how different her responses would be especially because she didn’t eat meat. Though our new school lunch program offers vegetarian dishes, it was not possible to get them during first period when we did our study. Kayla picked the meat out of most dishes and said the food was still great.


Monday, March 2nd- Penne pasta with Italian Sausage
Tuesday, March 3rd- Chicken Gyro with Greek Romaine Salad and Tzatziki
Wednesday, March 4th- Beef and Mushroom Stroganoff
Thursday, March 5th- No lunch, early release.
Friday, March 6th- Lemon Rosemary Chicken Breast with Vegetable Medley

Special thanks to the lunch staff and Chef Andy for having sample food and a smile for our food review team every morning.

Photographer/writer- Toni Mollica
Genius/writer-Kerri Goff

History of our Food

Many years ago, the entire island was based off and filled with farmers, who originally came to the island to start a living off farming the lands. These farmers worked all day long every day in order to maintain a living and supply food to their families and to the other islanders. Back then San Juan Island was a complete agricultural based society which provided the foundation of our community today. As time went on the use of farming and other agricultural products began to diminish, the farmers began to realize the reality of trying to compete with industrialization and so began to slowly retire from farming the lands which they had done for so long. Now, after many years, we have come up with a way that more farmers can participate, once more, in feeding our community. Our School lunch program now uses almost all local products to supply food to the schools on our island. Now our farmers are supported more than they have been for many years with this new lunch program, and they are very appreciated for it. Not only are our lunches really good but the food itself now comes from our neighbors so we know its made fresh and healthy.

Written by Josh Buck, Kyle Skoog, and Elwyn Pratt

Meet Liz Varvaro, FHHS Kitchen Manager!

Interview conducted by Alex MacDonald and Tristan Wood on March 10, 2009

Today, we went to talk to Liz Varvaro, the kitchen manager at Friday Harbor High School to learn more about her job and the Experience Food Project. Upon walking into the friendly kitchen, Chef Andy paused from cutting cucumbers to give us a "What's up?" before sending us in Liz's direction. Liz came to greet us with a smile and cup of coffee in hand. With enthusiasm, she took time away from her busy day to sit down and answer our questions.

First we found out what exactly Liz does for the Experience Food Project (EFP). She is the kitchen manager, and as she puts it, is the liaison between the kitchen here at FHHS and the "satellite campuses" (FHES, Spring Street School, and Paidea). She manages staffing and logistics, as well as monitoring the profits and losses of the program. This includes how much food is eaten each day, how much each meal costs, and what the program can afford. Although she rarely actually cooks in the kitchen due to her jam-packed schedule, Liz said she also can fill in for any of the chefs, if it is needed.

We were interested in finding out more about how Liz got involved with the project. She told us she had been in the hospitality and food/beverage industry since high school. (Before the EFP, she was managing a restaurant in Seattle.) She wanted something different, and the EFP gave her that opportunity. She explained that working in the food industry is all about consumerism and making a profit. But Liz wanted to do something more beneficial for not only the consumers but the entire community and everyone involved. When she moved to the island two years ago, she liked the way the island focused on the importance of community. She began working at Market Chef, where she met Chef Andy and "all the foodies" and later, Chef Tom. That was the beginning of her journey with the Experience Food Project.

We then went on to ask Liz what her expectations were for the EFP. She told us she expected it to succeed, but she knew there would be hurdles to overcome. Liz wanted the program to focus on the people that eat the food, and allow the students and staff to connect with the kitchen and know that they were eating a great, healthy meal. She went on to explain that the program has been an overwhelming positive experience so far.

Liz says the EFP here on San Juan is a launching pad for other possible pilot programs around the state. There are some locations currently being discussed for future programs, but they haven't been revealed to the public yet. She says the island was a perfect place to start the EFP because the community here is very hands-on and supportive, and in return, expects a lot out of the program. Liz knows the EFP is making an impact and that "it is going to succeed." In general, Liz believes the future of the program is promising.

The last part of the interview was to find out more about the energetic and outgoing Liz Varvaro. Her favorite color is green, and she loves the way different shades of green work together. We asked her favorite food, and she quickly stated, "That's such a hard one!" (she is a chef after all). After thinking for quite a long time, she said she loves all red meat. Her favorite animal is a horse, her favorite season is fall, and her favorite drink is coffee. (We guarantee she is holding a cup of coffee right now as you are reading this!) She told us her favorite flower was a heliotrope, because it smells like Dr. Pepper. When she's not in the school kitchen, Liz loves to cook for her boyfriend, who she told us eats a lot :) Other hobbies you might find her doing are golf and frisbee golf, hiking, reading, and occasionally "nerding out on video games."

We really enjoyed chatting and getting to know Liz Varvaro. Every student that eats at FHHS sees her around, and now we all know how big of a role she plays in the delicious Experience Food Project.

P.S. Liz says check out www.experiencefoodproject.org for more information on the future of the program.

The Dining Hall

Cafeteria, Commons, Lunch room, which ever you used to use to describe where we eat lunch gives off the wrong vibe. These words conjure up the image of hair nets, "Fish” shapes, and disgust. And with our new Experience Food Project, we felt it was time for a change. With our menus now including things like lemon and rosemary chicken breast with vegetable medley, and Chicken Pot Pie with mashed potatoes, we felt the title Dining Hall was much more appropriate. It alludes to the new sense of class and sophistication found in the Cafeteria these days. Gone are the days of Sloppy Joes and Meat loaf with meat that no one is quite sure the origin. The cafeteria as we used to know it is a thing of the past and so should the words that used to be used to describe it. So the next time you step through those double doors to enjoy one of the delicious meals, try out something else that’s new: call it the Dining Hall.

By: Hannah Waite, Callie Bartlett, and Dalton Baker

Interview with Chef Andy

1. What made you pursue being a chef?

Andy: I was attending Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, studying natural resource management. To pay for the expenses of college I worked in the kitchen. The chef in the kitchen at my school was attending a nearby culinary school. I got side tracked and ended up going there.

2. Did you go to school for cooking? If so what credentials do you have?

Andy: I went to Grand Rapids Community College and earned a Culinary Arts Degree. Most of what I learned was outside of school. The actual experience of working in the kitchen is where I learned skills and mastered them.

3. What are your favorite parts of working as a chef/ in the dining hall?

Andy: My favorite part of working as a chef would definitely be the creativity. Working with all of the different products in raw form and being able to create them into something pretty unique. My favorite part of working in the dining hall is being able to work with students. Many people don’t realize that their eating habits right now will affect them later. I want them to know what exactly food is and what food is healthy.

4. Is it hard to come up with new dishes?

Andy: We have the month to month menus so I don’t have to make it up that day. The challenging part is coming up with dishes that I can prepare for such a large amount of people coming through the dining hall each day. At restaurants the menu can be longer with many different meals because everybody is getting something different.

5. What is your least favorite part of your job?

Andy: My least favorite part of working in the kitchen would have to be waking up early. I have to get here in time to start preparing breakfast dishes. Sometimes I wake up as early as 4:30, but not always. I do prep work the night before to take off some time in the morning.

6. Do you enjoy working with everyone in the kitchen?

Andy: Yes! We have a great crew working in the kitchen. It is really important to have good connections and have reliable co-workers. Working in the kitchen is fast paced. Especially if you’re working in a restaurant, there are many different meals being prepared at one given time. Here in the dining hall, we are only preparing one meal for the entire school. There are such big quantities of food being prepared that everyone is busy. Everyone has to be working together.

7. What is your most preferable dish to make? Easy/best

Andy: Pasta dishes are the easiest dish that we have, that is usually why we make them on Mondays and students love them. My favorite dish to make would have to be the soup dishes. I really enjoy making different soups. Sandwiches are easy as well, and the ham and cheese ones are pretty good.

8. What is the hardest dish you prepare, if any?

Andy: I would have to say pizza takes the longest so I guess you can say it’s the hardest one to prepare. I have to make the dough by hand and weigh out all the flour and roll it out onto trays. We make homemade sauce and lastly we have to pre-bake the dough. It comes out to about two days to prepare it but it is the most popular dish that we have.

9. Is our lunch count in the morning accurate for preparing a good amount?

Andy: It isn’t very accurate. However, I have come to find out that it is typically off about 80 to 100 students short each day, not only for the high school but the middle school as well.

10. If we were to pay full price how much would a meal really cost?

Andy: It depends on what dish we are making. However, if this food were for a restaurant you would have to pay three times as much as we pay right now. Though, we are not trying to make money we are just trying to get an even price. Sometimes we make a little, sometimes we lose a little and sometimes it’s about equal. There are also the students who get the free and reduced lunches; we get a portion of it reimbursed from the government.



Chef Andy is a very outgoing, friendly guy. We are lucky to have someone that is knowledgeable about food and cares about teaching and helping us learn the importance of a healthy diet. Hopefully, our schools will be able to sustain this outstanding lunch program provided for us.


By Christine GrosJacques and Meaghan McCormick