Community Interviews

Executive Chef Los Almos Assisted Living, Los Alamos, NM 1st Place Winner of the 2025 CAN DO Challenge Caramelized Pear & Gorgonzola Pizza with Tricolore Salad What was your inspiration for creating your winning recipe? The inspiration for my recipe came from my fascination for craft pizzas. The art of creating something from scratch, being… Continue Reading Meet a Chef: Danny Rodriguez

District Executive Chef Garland ISD, Garland, TX Honorable Mention Winner of the 2024 CAN DO Challenge Pear Glazed Beef Yakisoba Noodles with Caramelized Soy Garlic Pears How do you use canned Bartlett pears on your menus throughout the year? We typically serve diced pears as a fruit option on our serving lines, and we also… Continue Reading Meet a Chef: Kevin Jenkins

Owner RHB Resources and Lead Instructor Junior Chef Academy, Indianapolis, IN First Place Winner of the 2024 CAN DO Challenge Tacos al “Pear-Store” with Grilled Pears and Pear Tomatillo What was your approach/inspiration for creating your winning recipe? I’m a huge fan of traditional Mexican recipes, and I love to incorporate some of the techniques… Continue Reading Meet a Chef: Ross Katz

Child Nutrition Supervisor Compass Group/Chartwells K-12 Clio Area Schools, Michigan What are your responsibilities and how many meals do you serve? My daily responsibilities are staff training, menu development, program implementation, catering, marketing, safety program, environment and equipment updates. We serve 2,500 meals a day. How did you decide to incorporate canned pears into your… Continue Reading Meet a Chef: Thomas Wlodarczyk

Child Nutrition Supervisor Healdsburg Unified School District, Healdsburg, CA Second Place Winner of the 2020 CAN DO Challenge Pear Hand Pies What is your background in foodservice? My experience in foodservice started when I was 14, at a frozen custard shop in Indiana. But where my career really started to take shape was at a… Continue Reading Meet a Chef: Leigh Ann Bozung

Associate Director of Culinary Operations Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo Third Place Winner of the 2023 CAN DO Challenge Chilean Pumpkin Pear Empanadas What was the inspiration for your winning Chilean Pumpkin & Pear Empanadas? I intentionally had a lot of unique flavors mixed to make it a more unique taste. Pumpkin was used in the… Continue Reading Meet a Chef: Andrew Francisco

Meet Callie Gavorek MS, RD, CC, FMP, SNS It looks like you’ve been a champion of healthy eating for about a decade. What are some of the healthy eating strategies that you’ve worked on for K-12 menus? One of the most common nutritional requests for K-12 menus is lower sugar breakfast menus. The United States… Continue Reading Meet a Dietitian: Callie Gavorek

Zillah, WA Pacific Northwest Pear Grower When and where did you get started in the pear business? After serving in the Marine Corp, I came back to Washington’s Yakima Valley and worked for growers in the area until 1996 when I leased my first orchard. I started with 26 acres of pear trees and 4… Continue Reading Grower Interviews: Shawn Phelps

Child Nutrition Culinary Expert What is your background? I’m a chef, a dietitian, and a menu planning and recipe development consultant for K-12 schools. I also consult with food brands and commodity boards on their K-12 marketing programs. I’ve been working on child nutrition programs for over 10 years. Is there a fit for canned… Continue Reading Meet a Chef: Brenda Wattles