Chef Inspires Students to Eat Their Veggies

Chef Jose Velez of Toscania Trattoria in Little Falls has cooked for U.S. Presidents and alongside celebrity chefs. But the award-winning chef is just as much at home making a meal for a room full of elementary school students. 

Chef Velez visited in Caldwell earlier this month to participate in the school’s “Team Up to Veg Out” program.

The program was developed by school nurse Maryann Ciesla and first-grade teacher Carol Macken to encourage students and their families to adopt healthier eating habits.

With the help of several students, Velez cooked up a quick batch of Ratatouille he later shared with the students, Ciesla and Macken.

While chopping, mixing and cooking, Velez spoke to the children about how he shops for his restaurant, buying the fresh vegetables and fruits daily from local farmers, and preparing dishes only from the foods in season.

As he cooked, he challenged students to identify the vegetables he was using in his recipe, including beets and artichokes. He also said he would enter any student who could make a list of vegetables for every letter in the alphabet in a drawing for dinner at his Little Falls restaurant.

“Chef Jose knows how to make healthy foods taste good,” said third grader Kristin Shiuey. “Some people don’t even like healthy foods, but they may try new things if Chef Jose cooks for them.”

Added first grader Sean Haas, “I liked the different vegetables that Chef Jose brought and I liked the smell of the food he cooked, too!”

Velez trained at the Culinary Institute of America. He began his career at The Marquis in Times Square and has cooked in the White House for both U.S. Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as the Rihga Royal Hotel in New York.

Velez led a team of chefs who won the Gold Medal in Great Britain at the prestigious “Salon Culinaire International de Londres.” He has also won individual Gold Medals in New York’s Societe Culinaire Philanthropique.

His recipes have been featured on television and newspapers, as well as in cookbooks.