Ratatouille

Although it’s more fun to boast about my successes in getting kids to eat Brussels sprouts or be excited about kale chips, I don’t want to mislead you into thinking that I win every time. There are always days, and foods, that despite my greatest enthusiasm and pep, simply don’t make it with our students.

This week we served ratatouille on the lunch line as a hot side which students were not obligated to try. Zucchini, tomatoes and various herbs made what I thought to be an appealing and delicious dish. Middle school students arrived first for lunch, and not surprisingly most of them passed on these veggies. One girl stopped long enough to look disgusted and say “Ew.” Somehow she escaped without having to pick zucchini out of her hair. I don’t mind students passing on the ratatouille, but such blatant rudeness left me steamed. One other student looked at what I was serving and said, “That’s disgusting,” which was enough for me. Every student who followed these two received a spoonful of ratatouille and a semi-enthusiastic lecture that went something like this: “This is ratatouille, just like from the movie! You don’t have to like this but you do have to try a bite and you need to be polite about.” Older students were also informed that any rude comments would result in the confiscation of their chocolate milk.

While I’m sure most middle- and high-school students didn’t try the ratatouille, the elementary students respond much more appropriately. A chorus of obedient “please’s” and “thank you’s” runs down the line, and when I wander the cafeteria many are willing to try a tiny bite and declare it delicious (although refuse to eat any more.) I had a long discussion with a kindergarten boy who was worried that if he tried the ratatouille he wouldn’t like it. I assured him that it was ok. “If you don’t like a food, do you think it’s polite to make a face and yell, gross?” Pause. “No.” “That might hurt my feelings. Instead, you can say, ‘Ms. Estrem, I don’t care for this,’ or ‘You know, Ms. Estrem, this isn’t to my liking today.’”

He tried a bite, which was followed by a dramatic face and a run to the garbage can. After some prompting, he told me that he didn’t care for the ratatouille. A smattering of students seemed to actually enjoy the dish, and three came back for seconds, to great celebration.

After a long week I was frustrated by the overall reaction to this meal, but now I’m more motivated than ever to come up with new methods for trying new foods.