Posted by Orlando Sentinel, FL on June 13, 2008 at 08:11:07:
Astatula school chef's turkey roll-ups are a winner, hungry kids say
School chef prized for turkey roll-ups
Katie Gallagher | Sentinel Staff Writer
June 12, 2008
ASTATULA - Hungry students aren't the only ones with a taste for the turkey-and-stuffing roll-ups served at Astatula Elementary School for the Arts.
The developer of the popular recipe -- the school's food-services manager, Linda May -- recently won the monthly Jennie-O Turkey Store Recipe Contest. May and 10 other monthly winners were chosen from more than 50 food-service employees who entered the contest with recipes for everything from turkey pizza to turkey tacos, said Sarah Anderson of Jennie-O Turkey.
All winners will be treated to a free meal at Le Bec-Fin restaurant in Philadelphia on July 22, while they're in the city for a food-service convention, Anderson said. They also will be pictured with their recipes on a calendar and recipe deck. One grand-prize winner, chosen from the 11 finalists, will have all expenses paid to Philadelphia.
May, 63, first made her roll-ups as a test recipe for next year's school Thanksgiving feast. She rolled sliced turkey and stuffing into wraps, baked them in the oven and drizzled them with gravy. She served the roll-ups with green beans, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce and asked everyone who ate them to fill out a customer-satisfaction survey.
"Out of the whole 200, there were only two children who didn't like the product," she said.
The cafeteria usually follows a standardized menu, May said, and she doesn't cook much at home, so it is unusual for her to experiment with recipes. Still, she said, she has cherished her 17 years of working at Astatula Elementary and sits on the board of directors for the Florida School Nutrition Association.
"I love the kids," she said. "I love to cook for them and make them nutritional food."
May said she is most excited that her recipe will be shared with other cafeterias, but she's also looking forward to eating at the five-star Le Bec-Fin.
"I pulled the menu up, and I can tell you, there are some things on there I want to try myself," she said.