John Turenne: Proud to be Part of the BPS Dining Service Team
When Chartwells’ John Turenne was hired last September as Branford Public Schools’ director of dining services/executive chef, he had to hit the ground running—and he’ll never forget the support he received from his team, the district, and the community to help him.
“I came in last September within days of the school opening,” he says. “I have a lot of food service experience in higher education, but not as much with K-12, which relies a lot more on the USDA systems. So it was massive learning curve. The team here knew what they were doing, and they carried me.”
Of course, John deserves some credit for what he brings to the BPS table, too. The Rhode Island native earned his culinary degree at Johnson & Wales in Providence and, following years working as a chef for country clubs and restaurants, carved out a significant career in higher education food service.
He came to Connecticut to first work in food service at Albertus Magnus College, then went on to join the staff at Choate Rosemary Hall, where he rose through the ranks to become director of dining services. Following that, John served as dining service directorat Wesleyan University until Yale University came calling.
“Yale needed an executive chef with administrative and culinary skills, so I got to be the executive chef at Yale University for about seven years,” says John, a Wallingford resident.
John left Yale to launch a successful institutional food service consulting business, where most of his clientele were those seeking to bring better food options into K-12 sector. In a twist of fate, John says he and his wife, Susan, were discussing whether he would ever consider transitioning to a new challenge when Chartwells reached out to him with news of an opening with BPS.
“Everything happens for a reason and at that time I was contacted by Chartwells. They said, ‘You wouldn’t be interested in coming to work for us at this little district?’ And I said, ‘Talk to me about it.’” John recalls. “I came down and visited and saw what this was about, and said, ‘You know what? This is perfect.’”
Superintendent of Schools Hamlet Hernandez said BPS has found a gem in John.
“Since John’s arrival and under his leadership, the district’s food service program has experienced many improvements. He is student-centered, fiscally sound, and extremely responsive to the district. We are fortunate to have his talents in Branford,” said Hernandez.
In addition to keeping up with all of the administrative paperwork, guidelines, and training to ensure BPS dining and food services are meeting government regulations such as USDA requirements for nutrition and health, John is constantly working with his district leaders and staff to find ways to keep students interested in the food they can offer.
“We’ve got to be able to provide variety and things that they like, and keep within the USDA requirements, and do it quickly. These kids have only 20 minutes to dine, so it’s a short window,” he says.
John is based at Branford High School (BHS), where he oversees a union staff of 25 full-time and part-timers across the district and relies on their support and input as well as that of the lead managers at each of the kitchens in the district’s school buildings. Another key to the team’s success is the input that can be gathered from the students themselves, he adds.
“We want to make sure they feel they have a say in it, so it’s not just somebody else telling them what they want to eat. We want to hear from them,” he says. “If you stop and think about it, this is a business; they’re the customers, and we have to make sales. And if I’m providing a menu they don’t want, then we’re not making sales.”
Last year, John sat down with each manager lead at the elementary schools and asked, “What can we do differently?”
“They said, ‘We’ve had a menu that was great for higher ed kids and for adults, with scratch-cooked items, but the kids turn up their noses.’”
Together, they came up with an answer that helped bolster student interest—and sales—across the district’s three elementary schools
“So we have gone back to some kid-friendly items that still meet USDA nutritional guidelines and that helped provide interest and more participation,” says John, adding, “This year, we’re hoping to have a new focus on ‘mood food,’ because different foods that we eat can affect our moods. It’s still about healthy eating, but the term healthy eating is not as exciting! ‘Mood food’ could be kind of fun.”
Last year, at the high school, John started up a new program that grabs input directly from students.
“We do a high school program a couple of times a year called Student Choice. It’s an online voting system,” he says. “We set up a [food] station in the dining room with some ideas for future menu items, and not only are they tasting it, they’re on tablets and phones voting, and watching the results live on screens as they vote.”
One of the wining votes was for a southwest chicken panini, which within weeks became a new concept offered on the daily lunch menu, he notes.
“So they get to see their impact, not only hear about having it,” he says. “They get to see it, taste it, and then eat the results!”
The program will return to the high school again this year and John is also hoping to bring a version to the middle school. Meanwhile, work on the WIS school expansion project will bring other changes to the student dining.
“We’re faced with a big change coming this year with the new building. It’s going to give us a whole new kitchen area and that’s exciting,” says John. “So things like the pizzas that we provide will be more cooked fresh to order, or ‘a la minute’—not cooked in the back in larger batches, then provided. So that will be a whole new concept there.”
Speaking of new concepts, John’s input brought in state-of-the-art ovens where were just installed in the BHS kitchen this month.
“The district just invested in some brand-new equipment at high school—combination ovens. It will definitely raise the quality and variety of menu items” says John, who oversaw the same type of equipment at Yale.
The installation took place at BHS over the summer, which may be a quiet time at most school kitchens, but not in Branford. BHS, together with Sliney and Tisko elementary schools, have been the district’s sites serving free breakfast and lunch to Branford kids 18 and under.
The program, funded by the USDA Summer Food Service Program, started June 24 and runs through Friday, Aug. 23. Thousands of meals are served to youths and families, including those who are welcome to walk in and those participating through Branford Parks & Recreation and Soundview Family YMCA.
“The summer meals were something they’ve done for quite a while here in Branford, and it was another one of the things that I inherited,” says John, who experienced the program for the first time this summer. “I kept hearing about it all year long, but once it got here, we hit the ground running, because of this great team here, who are people who have done it before. I’m also blessed with great community stakeholders at the Recreation Department and the YMCA that participate in the program and help systemize it so we can plan.”
Knowing how many hundreds of kids will be coming in to partake of the free summer meals is helpful because, for John, like any chef, “one of biggest fears in our industry is to run out of food! You know that nightmare of going to school in our underwear? Well a chef’s nightmare is standing in your underwear, but running out of food—or not being ready!”
That said, “that’s also part of the rush in this industry,” John adds. “There’s never a dull moment. I’m glad we have the summer program in more ways than one. Most importantly, it provides meals for kids in the community, but it kept a lot of us in action and in gear for school year.”
When Branford’s school year starts on Tuesday, Sept. 3, rest assured John and his team will be ready to put out 2,500 meals a day, every day of the school year.
“I’m only as good as the team that’s beside me,” says John, who works with the philosophy treating people the way he would like to treated by others: “with respect, dignity, and empathy.”
He plans to gather his staff for a back-to-school team meeting on Monday, Aug. 26, and is really looking forward to that day.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been as pleased with what I’m doing, with the environment I’ve been in, as where I am now,” says John. “Maybe its maturity, but on the other hand, it’s that community. It’s the leaders I’m getting a chance to work with, and I can’t stress it enough, most importantly it’s the team, the people that I’m working with. They’re the ones that are making it successful.”