Alan Campbell
Executive Chef/Manager
Chiron Corp.
Emeryville, CA
"One of our more unique items is the huevos rancheros stack. It's a southwestern favorite, and very popular here. It's traditionally made with a soft toasted tortilla and scrambled eggs. However, we decided to use a crispy tortilla instead and stack it with the eggs instead of roll it. Customers love it.
"We also do a breakfast pizza with raw eggs instead of scrambled eggs on top. We buy 7 inch pizza skins, roll them out and let them proof. Add a little marinara sauce to give it a zing, some sliced mushrooms, tomatoes, Monterey jack and cheddar cheese. Then we crack four raw eggs and bake it for 15-20 minutes. It's quick and easy to both make and eat.
"We've been trying different fish dishes as well. We have a fillet of trout, which is a sweeter fish, with maple sauce mixed with butter run over the top. It's nicely paired with red skin sautèed onions and peppers.
"We're trying different things, offering more healthful options and staying as far away as we can from the ordinary."
Paula Buser
Nutrition Director
Cañon city Schools
Cañon City, CO
"Two of our schools have 50% free and reduced. We assessed the needs of these two schools and found that the benefits of making breakfast universally available in the classroom far outweighed the logistics.
"We have a container for every classroom. We fill it each day with products that don't need to be at any certain temperature. We have a separate container for milk and juice. The teacher, as opposed to the nutrition services staff, chooses how to serve the breakfast. Most often, the container is by the door and children can grab what they want as they walk into the classroom.
"Prior to this program 10-15% were participating in breakfast. Now, under provision 2, we serve 85-95%. Our goal is to provide children with a nutritious breakfast that compliments their education. We try to serve simple, healthful, grab-and-go items with brands that children recognize.
"It's well known that hungry students have a difficult time learning. We've found that better nourished students have better attendance, are more attentive, have less discipline problems, and more energy to participate in school day activities."
Rob D'Orsi
Director of Product Development
Sodexho's Retail Brand Group
Allentown, PA
"The last thing a college student wants early in the morning is to get held up in line waiting for his or her breakfast. In developing the breakfast concepts of our brands we always keep in mind ease of travel, convenience and speed of service.
"Breakfast sandwiches nicely fit that profile. We make sandwiches of all varieties. We offer different breads and bagel options for the sandwiches, even French toast, with any combination of sausage, bacon, ham, egg and cheese.
"We are also developing our healthful grabandgo items like the fruit and yogurt parfait with granola on top. We have three new flavor profiles that have been a huge success. There's raspberry and blueberry, mango and coconut, and pineapple and strawberry.
"We find that the items that are successful and popular are also very convenient for customers on the run."