Introducing himself, Juan Llorca explains that:
"I put aside my obsession and dream of being a great chef to use, to devote myself to what I am and what I want to be, the best chef for each of the children I can become."
And he is on his way to achieve it, because he left his restaurant in 2011 to be a chef at the Montessori School in Valencia and from there and with his #PorUnaEscuelaBienNutrida program, he is revolutionizing the essence and raison d'être of children's menus in schools. This chef for children defends the quality of food rather than quantity and good food as part of education for life in schools.
In the talk he has had with us, he explains why it is so important that our children eat well in the school canteen.
In your experience, what do many of the current menus in the schools limp on?
There are three key points that fail:
Excess protein in the menus and vegetable deficit.
Too many processed meats (such as sausages) and fried foods.
Very sugary desserts.
In Babies and more Eating at school: what should we expect from school canteens?So, when you advise those responsible for children's canteens, what do you propose to change?
Eliminate sugars and processed meats (closely related to colon cancer).
Replace pre-cooked and ultra-processed foods with fresh food.
Always include vegetables as a first course, cooked differently (creams, sauteed, steamed ...).
Reduce the consumption of animal proteins and choose only those of quality.
Bet on greater presence of legumes. Replacing fritters with other cooking techniques that are equally enjoyable.
Choose other cooking techniques that are not fried and just as appetizing.
For us every day is "fruit day" and we joined the Meetless Monday movement, in defense of vegetarian food.
Those bets are those that have served to the Montessori School of Valencia, where you work as a chef, to become the first school center with Slow Food certificate. What does this distinction mean?
I understand it as a prize for the work of sensitization and education of the taste of children, who learn from childhood the importance of a healthy and balanced diet, participate in the school garden and are interested in the origin of food.
It is an attempt to bring healthy eating in all its fields and disciplines, from very early ages: inside the classroom, through the school garden where families and healthy menus are offered daily.
Food as part of children's education?
Indeed. I think that the quality of the children's menu should be one of the reasons that parents should weigh when choosing their children's school, as important as being close to home, bilingual or having a very nice soccer field. That does not mean that you should not also have sports facilities, but maybe you can invest the money in the quality of fresh food instead of being spectacular.
Now it is a secondary issue and yet it is part of the day to day of the child in the center, it is part of their education. In the dining room try different flavors, learn good table manners, the importance of food, to socialize with others, to take care of your health ...It has also been shown that it favors a varied diet at home, since they arrive accustomed to assessing all healthy foods and not only those they like.
And if they don't like your proposal?
It has been shown that a child may need to taste 15 to 20 times until he likes it. So it is a matter of encouraging them to try all the foods even if they a priori affirm that they are not seduced by the idea.
What happens is that in schools it is prioritized that the child eat instead of what he eats, although less, is of quality. Hence the bet is safe: french fries, chicken nuggets, sugary yogurts ... Perhaps because of pressure from parents, who worry if their children do not eat at school and school officials fear they blame them.
But can you change the adult mentality in food?
Of course. That is the idea of our #PorUnaEscuelaBienNutrida campaign ”.
We advise not only those responsible for the dining rooms on how to feed the children, but also teachers and parents, even with full daily menus so that they understand what a varied diet is like at home.
In Babies and more Weekly healthy menu for children from three years We solve your doubts through social networks and give examples of how a menu should be, without criticizing a particular school. And it seems that we are reaching the general public, not just the schools.
But that advice is only for private schools, isn't it?
It's not like that. Infant feeding is just as bad in public centers as in private ones. What happens is that the private ones manage themselves and are more easily able to change their menus, which they often prepare themselves.
Public schools depend on catering companies and it is they who have to take the initiative to change. But some have already asked us what they should do to modify their offer.
Do your proposals include 'party food'?
I know it is a common practice in the centers: pizza, hamburger or puppy on certain days, because they are dishes that children usually love.
In addition to not being healthy, they function as a reward and should never be rewarded with food, because then there comes a time when we really don't know what he likes and what he doesn't.
Yes, we bet on the variety and once a month we offer an international immersion menu: we look for information about dishes from China, Thailand or Italy, for example, and prepare their dishes adjusted to healthy parameters.
So, are there any prohibited foods?
Absolutely. Prohibiting something strictly can only cause greater anxiety in the child and greater desire to eat it. When a parent asks me if I can make a cake without sugar for his son's birthday, I prefer that they understand that for a day nothing happens because they do not eat healthy. Another very different thing would be that it was a daily custom.
And likewise, Nor should we force them to "eat everything." We must encourage them to try, but just as adults do not always have the same appetite, they do the same. So I hope that those responsible for the schools will be referred to and do not prioritize that children eat quantity instead of quality.
Encouraging good eating habits and a good environment improves children's relationship with food and teaches them, because as I said before:
Healthy eating is part of children's education, or at least it should be.Photos | Assigned by Juan Llorca
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