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Chop! Chop! Culinary Skills for Wisconsin-grown Produce in School Meals
Welcome to the home of the Chop! Chop! culinary skills training video series. These free training videos will help you and your school food service staff use more fresh, Wisconsin-grown fruits and vegetables—and whole grains—in your school meal program by introducing new foods, recipes and culinary skills. View all six videos below, along with support resources and recipes for your school lunch programs. These training videos are a joint project of CESA Nutrition Purchasing, the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and Team Nutrition of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Click on a video title to jump to a specific section
Each video is about 15 minutes long
Chop! Chop! Resource Guide
The Chop! Chop! Resource Guide was developed to accompany the Chop! Chop! video training series. The guide is a compilation of the recipes featured in the videos and includes information about Wisconsin crops, procurement of local products, food safety and professional development.
How to Use the Chop! Chop! Training Videos
These videos are available to everyone, at no charge. Individuals can view the videos online and complete the short online evaluation form associated with each title. The videos can also be screened to a larger audience; for instance, they could be shown at a training for school food service staff, a conference workshop or a statewide meeting. When screening these videos for in-person professional development, please read the Chop! Chop! Screening Guide.
Each video includes:
- An introduction to a Wisconsin-grown specialty crop or whole grain
- Basic culinary preparation techniques like knife skills and pureeing
- Creative menu ideas to incorporate Wisconsin-grown fruits and vegetables
- School nutrition requirements met by the featured fruit or vegetables
- Appropriate use of “cosmetically imperfect seconds”
- Interviews with farmers and nutrition directors who make farm to school happen!
This video series is for demonstration purposes only. When preparing food in school food service operations always follow proper food safety practices as specified by the Wisconsin Food Code. For more information on proper food safety practices please visit the DPI School Nutrition Team’s Website.
The Videos
Dark Leafy Green Salad
Learn basic knife skills, how to wash and store leafy greens along with a delicious kale and apple salad recipe.
Culinary Technique: Knife Skills
Recipe: Fall Kale Salad
Evaluation Survey: http://go.wisc.edu/9j70z7
Wisconsin Farmer: Darren Vollmar, Ledgeview Gardens
School Food Service Director: Erin Heim, De Pere School District
Pureed Winter Squash
Winter squash is a delicious, kid-friendly food to feature throughout the winter months. Learn how to prepare, bake, puree and incorporate this delicious red-orange vegetable into your menu.
Culinary Techniques: Yeast preparation, whole wheat equivalents, crediting techniques with whole wheat and white flour.
Recipe: Blueberry Oat Muffin
Recipe: Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Evaluation Survey: http://go.wisc.edu/6h3rg6
Tomato and Pepper Ratatouille
Preserve the peak of the harvest season with a delicious tomato and pepper ratatouille recipe, and learn how to appropriately freeze it for the winter months.
Culinary Technique: Storage and Freezing
Recipe: Peak Season Ratatouille
Evaluation Survey: http://go.wisc.edu/48448c
Wisconsin Farmer: Barb Perkins, Vermont Valley Community Farm
School Food Service Director: Michelle Denk, Mt. Horeb Area School District
Cabbage, Broccoli and Cauliflower Slaw
Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are transformed into two delicious Wisconsin-slaw recipes just waiting to be served as a side or on your salad bar.
Culinary Technique: Hand shredding, mechanical shredding
Recipe: Creamy Chipotle Cole Slaw
Recipe: Zippy Wisconsin Slaw
Evaluation Survey: http://go.wisc.edu/2g40z2
Wisconsin Farmer: Chris Blakeney, Amazing Grace Family Farm
School Food Service Director: Jim Degan, School District of Janesville
Roasted Root Vegetables
Learn the basics of roasting potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes in this Chop Chop video.
Culinary Technique: Roasting, Creative Seasoning
Recipe: Chef T’s Roasted Root Vegetables and SchoolHouse Seasoning
Evaluation Survey: http://go.wisc.edu/g6dlf3
Wisconsin Farmer: Meg Kelly, High Meadow Farm CSA
School Food Service Director: Barb Waara, School District of Fort Atkinson
Whole Grains
There are so many different ways to incorporate healthy whole grains into foods that students love. Here you will learn the basics of using whole grains, a delicious blueberry oat muffins recipe and the secrets to whole grain pizza dough! Culinary Technique: Yeast preparation & crediting techniques with whole wheat and white flour.
Culinary Technique: Yeast preparation, whole wheat equivalents, crediting techniques with whole wheat and white flour.
Recipe: Blueberry Oat Muffin
Recipe: Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Evaluation Survey: http://go.wisc.edu/6h3rg6
Partners & Sponsors
CESA Purchasing Nutrition Program and the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences are key grant recipients of a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant that supports the five specialty crop Chop! Chop! videos. Team Nutrition at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction developed the whole grains Chop! Chop! video with the support of a USDA Team Nutrition grant.
Supporting organizational partners contributing essential effort to the Chop! Chop! Project include: Wisconsin Farm to School; Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; UW School of Human Ecology; School Nutrition Association of Wisconsin.
Thank you to the following corporate sponsors: Organic Valley and Nutrislice.
Thank you to the following federal grants that made this project possible: USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant and the USDA Team Nutrition Grant.
Thank You To:
This project exists thanks to the support of many dedicated individuals and organizations across Wisconsin’s farm to school, local food, school nutrition, farming and arts communities. We would like to especially thank Terese Allen, Susan Peterman, Kymm Mutch, Sarah Elliott, Sarah Lloyd, Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative, Cris Carusi, Lisa Stahl, Tom Martin, Calen Albert, Daniella Echeverria, Honeybee Studio, Vermont Valley Community Farm, High Meadow Farm CSA, Ledgeview Gardens, Apple Blossom Orchard and Market, Amazing Grace Family Farm, Regenerative Roots, Peter Mulvey, Wisconsin Public Television, Jim Degan, Peggy West, Michelle Denk, Erin Heim, Barb Waara, Middleton Cross Plains School District, and Amy Yungbluth.
The Chop! Chop! Culinary Skills Videos are a collaborative project of the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, CESA Purchasing Nutrition Program and Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Team Nutrition.
This project was supported by the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture through grant 12-25-B01706. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.
USDA Funding
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Team Nutrition. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view of policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. government or the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal and, where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program, or protected genetic information in employment or in any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.)
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410.
