Marygrace Taylor

Cheesecake is the type of simple, blank-canvas dessert that begs for creative flavor tinkering.

Operators are taking this Asian noodle soup, once the packaged stuff of college dorms, to new heights.

Rather than bore students with dry stats on calories and fat, Wesley Delbridge, R.D., food & nutrition director for Phoenix’s Chandler Unified School District, is turning healthy eating into a game.

Powdered mix with freeze-dried marshmallow bits? Think again. Whether for special events or as an everyday indulgence, operators are finding new, unexpected ways to make hot chocolate feel fresh.

Eight years ago, Rick Hughes, director of food and nutrition services for Colorado Springs School District 11, pulled à la carte snacks out of his elementary schools because he felt that snacking took away from eating healthy, wholesome meals.

Most of the ingredients in Eastern European dishes are simple and feel familiar to customers. But if a recipe calls for something that simply won’t play well, most operators have no problem tweaking a recipe.