Issue Date: November 28, 2004

School lunch makeover

A chef revamps fat- and sugar-laden menus, earning an "A" from parents and kids.

By Maggie Gallant

Looking at the menu of tofu teriyaki wraps, rutabaga fries and braised kale, you might think you're at a trendy café. Nope. You're looking at what French Culinary Institute graduate Robert Surles, a k a Chef Bobo, serves up daily to kids at Manhattan's private Calhoun School. His secret: cooking from scratch, trimming portion sizes and substituting healthier versions of kids' high-fat, preservative-laden faves. His goal: to teach young eaters how to make lifelong good food choices. When parents began calling for his recipes, he decided to write this autumn's "Chef Bobo's Good Food Cookbook" (Meredith Books, $24.95), with more than 140 healthful dishes that Surles says will satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. We spoke with him:

"Chef Bobo" oversees what has to be one of the nation's few ketchup-free cafeterias.

How do you get kids to try something new?
Studies show [it may take up to] 15 times tasting something before a kid likes it. It's so easy to give in to kids, but they'll come around.

So it's "Eat your peas ... or else"?
I never push too hard on a child to eat something when a lot of kids are around, because it's embarrassing. I will talk to them separately and maybe give them a little taste. You don't want them to feel like it's a punishment. And you don't want them to cram it into their mouth and swallow it without tasting it. [Laughs.]

How can parents build better eating habits at home, especially if they have no time to cook?
If you're going to bring in food from outside, don't get it from a fast-food place. Go to the deli and get a [cooked] chicken. The most important thing is to get the whole family involved. Everyone likes to be in the kitchen.

What's the one food you try to keep away from your students?
Anything that has corn syrup in it. The reason we're having problems today with diabetes in kids is because there's corn syrup in everything. It may mean ketchup! When I got to Calhoun, I wouldn't serve ketchup.

Didn't kids yell?!
Students asked [in whining voice], "Why won't you serve us ketchup?" Ketchup has more sugar in it than ice cream, and personally I'd rather have ice cream.

What is your most popular dish at school?
Rutabaga fries. We toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper, cook them in a convection oven. They taste like sweet French fries.

We understand you take issue with the way people pronounce "vegetable" ...
"Veg-table." It's "veg-e-table." If you look at how it's spelled, that's the way it should be pronounced. I've yet to find one other person who pronounces it this way.