Have you noticed the improvements made for our dining areas, like the waffle maker in the market, or the new coffee machine? Have you noticed the changes in our daily lunch, like the fresh tortillas and the BBQ pork sandwich? During busy school days, students often ignore those small changes, yet it is in those details that the Valor staff’s hard work is reflected. Therefore, Valor Egale Eye Reporter decides to get a closer look at the work of Valor Flick staff and highlights the great effort they have put into our food.
Walking around the campus, our reporter first randomly surveys several students about their favorite food in Valor. Most students give positive feedback on the lunches, yet few of them mentioned the changes made to our food program. To this end, Eagle Eye Media Reporter goes into the kitchen and interviews the program’s Chief, Stephen Cherry, in order to learn more about the improvements the Flick program has made to Valor lunches.
The first thing that stands out to the reporter is the tortilla. According to one of the surveyed students, Jennifer Kranz, her favorite food is the chicken taco and fresh tortillas is the most enjoyable part. The reporter asks Mr. Cherry about the key to keeping those tortillas moist, and he points out the partnership between Valor and the food company, Mission Tortillas, which enables the chiefs to efficiently use tortillas before they get dry.
Fulfilling the needs of the student body is always the principle of the Flick Program. Mr. Cherry explains that, because “they’ve heard for years that there’s a need for [a waffle maker]”, the staff brought it to implement this year in the market. Along with the waffle maker, there’s also a new coffee machine, providing the students with healthy coffee without syrup, powder, or instant coffee. According to Mr. Cherry, all the coffee down in the market is made freshly from beans, and the pastries are homemade in order to fulfill Flick’s mission to “do everything in Valor’s kitchen”.
The student body is what Mr. Cherry highlights the most. As he points out, his transition from Executive Chef to the Director of Dining provides him a more “front-facing role” and allows him to directly interact with students and focus on their feeback. Mr. Cherry emphasizes his desire to hear from every single student. He wants hear what students like, what they don’t like. He wants to hear all the needs such as allergies or vegetarian. He wants wants to hear from students to continuously improve the program and ensure a positive dining experience for everyone. Therefore, please come down to the commons and let Mr. Cherry know about your needs and suggestions!