Chef Joe Urban’s Epic Journey to Transform School Food | Culinary 360 Podcast | 11

Culinary 360 Podcast

Join us on the Culinary 360 Podcast with Chef Joe Urban, the visionary behind "School Food Rocks"! Discover Joe’s journey from working in high school kitchens to owning six restaurants in Florida, and finally, to transforming K-12 school food programs in Greenville, SC. Hear how Joe's innovative approach replaced processed foods with fresh ingredients, bringing scratch-made meals, salad bars, and high-quality beef to school cafeterias. Dive into his mission to elevate school food nationwide and how his consulting venture, School Food Rocks, empowers districts with culinary training, menu design, and modern equipment solutions. This episode is a must-watch for anyone passionate about food, community, and making a positive impact on students’ lives!

👨‍🍳 Our HOSTS
Robert Simmelink
Director of Culinary Services — Phoenix, Arizona
Follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-simmelink-46a08115/
Luke Simonds
Corporate Chef — Denver, Colorado
Follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-simonds-4a3b15265/
Ryan Devereaux
Corporate Chef — Kent, Washington
Follow him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-devereaux-2bb6881ab/
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🍳 Our COMPANY
Looking to find out more about a piece of equipment? In search of new ideas to develop your menu? Or just not sure where to start when it comes to your foodservice operation? We’re here to help answer your foodservice equipment questions!
Learn more: https://ignitefoodservice.com
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👨‍🍳 DISCLOSURE: Views expressed in the Culinary 360 Podcast are individual opinions and they do not represent the employers of each host or guest, or the firm with which each host or guest is associated. Our podcasts are for educational and informational purposes only and should not be deemed or viewed as advice or recommendations.

Hoofdstukken

1. Cold Open (00:00:00)

2. Episode Guest: Joe Urban of School Food Rocks (SFR) (00:00:17)

3. Welcoming Joe Urban (00:01:00)

4. Getting started in Italian restaurants (00:01:15)

5. Skipping culinary school and running Pizza Huts (00:02:03)

6. How Joe owned and operated multiple 50's diners in Florida (00:02:36)

7. Selling his restaurants after 15 years in business (00:04:23)

8. Transitioning to school foodservice (00:04:58)

9. School district's three objectives when hiring Joe (00:05:52)

10. Creating healthy school lunches in Greenville within two years (00:06:53)

11. How long it takes to change a school foodservice program (00:09:28)

12. Partnering with local technical college to retrain kitchen staff (00:10:20)

13. Maintaining district consistency without commissary kitchen (00:11:54)

14. Examples of food service recipes (00:13:40)

15. Joe's advice for school district food service director (00:15:03)

16. 1st — Get your school district administration is on-board (00:15:21)

17. 2nd — Share best practices with other districts and grow together (00:16:39)

18. 3rd — Map out food progam changes with "low-hanging fruit" first (00:17:40)

19. Eliminating gatekeeping — sharing improves the industry (00:18:44)

20. Transitioning from school foodservice to Food School Rocks (00:20:30)

21. Combating the politics of school food lunches (00:20:44)

22. How School Food Rocks consults to improve school foodservice (00:23:42)

23. Increasing the use of speed scratch cooking (00:27:08)

24. Non-traditional and diverse school lunch menu items (00:28:39)

25. School foodservice is changing (00:30:58)

26. Empowering school lunch staff with new cooking skills (00:31:55)

27. Educating kitchen staffs improves their own health (and students) (00:34:17)

28. Robert's experiences training school kitchen staffs (00:35:28)

29. Food service directors: "spend time talking to your kids" (00:37:16)

30. Greenville School District's partnership with Michelin (00:38:08)

31. Involving student's with culinary arts programs (00:40:32)

32. Joe's culinary travels to Mexico City (00:41:29)

33. Cochinita Pibil (00:43:09)

34. Inspiring local chef partnerships with school food service (00:44:04)

35. Relationship of manufacturers reps and school food service (00:46:55)

36. Equipment trends in school food service (00:48:04)

37. Equipment Trend no. 1 (00:48:13)

38. Two piece of equipment all kitchens should use (00:48:50)

39. Assessing a school district cafeteria in California (00:49:38)

40. What is Food School Rocks? (00:50:58)

41. Where can people learn more about Food School Rocks (00:54:03)

42. One things all lunch ladies love... (00:54:43)

43. Ignite Chef Takeaways (00:54:58)

44. Wrapping Up (00:57:23)

45. EoS (00:57:52)