It Is 'Tasting Week' in Palo Alto Elementary Schools!

Students from sixteen Bay Area schools will participate in “Tasting Week,” a weeklong series of events where students and top local Chefs meet to discover, enjoy, and share new tastes and food.

Held this year from October 6 to October 10, Tasting Week has expanded from its original location of Palo Alto to include schools across San Francisco, Berkeley, Mountain View, and Sunnyvale.

Chefs from some of the areas best-known restaurants signed up as presenters in the workshops.

Guest chef presenters include Chef Charlie Ayers from Calafia, Palo Alto; Chef Marco Fossati from Four Seasons, Palo Alto; Chef Nathan Beriau from Ritz Carlton, San Francisco; Chef Brendy Monsada from Left Bank; Chef Kelsey Casavan from LB Steak; Chef Alejandro Abad from Sofitel, Redwood City; Chef Mo L’Esperanza from Costanoa; Chef Beverlie Terra from Dolce Hayes; Chefs Kimberly Tran and Tatiana Contreras from Google; Chef Laura Stec from Kaiser Permanente; Chef Christy Wolf from Sur La Table; Chef Anna Buss from Frog Hollow Farm; Chef Jill Soltau from Common Threads; and many others.

The idea to have Bay Area schools launch this celebration of food came from a group of Bay Area parents who believe that educating children about taste is the best way to get them to love food and, at the same time, to fight obesity.

Founder Rebecca Scholl-Barbier said she promoted the idea because the workshops allow children to learn about nutrition in a qualitative way by appreciating the tastes and aromas of food.

“I truly believe that educating children about the origin of food, how to prepare it, and how to appreciate flavors are some of the most successful ways to fight obesity,” Scholl-Barbier said.

Scholl-Barbier hopes to have Tasting Week become a broader Bay Area tradition that occurs in all school districts. She points out that Bay Area Tasting Week is an international celebration of tastes from the diverse cultures and backgrounds present in the Bay Area.

The PAUSD Student Nutrition Department is participating in the celebration by putting together A to Z salad bars in many of the Palo Alto elementary schools during the week to complement the lessons taught with Tasting Week chef demonstrations.

Complete details are available at www.tastingweek.com

Additional information about school specific events is available by emailing PAUSD Communications Coordinator Tabitha Kappeler-Hurley at thurley@pausd.org.

--Image and information courtesy of Palo Alto USD.