Rebecca Cunningham has been a chef at some of the nation’s best restaurants and hotels, but she is happier to be working in the kitchen at Sidwell.
Cunningham, Sidwell’s executive chef, has cooked at the Willard Hotel, the Kennedy Center, and her own restaurant, which was named one of the fifty best in America by Conde Nast Traveler.
Richard Swindell, the school’s Director of Business Operations who also supervises food service at Sidwell, said Cunningham has done wonders in improving the school’s food. “Rebecca is a gem,” he said. “Her ability to wrap her head around new foods and use them is huge, and she does so many things in house… she has brought us a long way.”
Cunningham is modest about the recognition Sidwell has received for the quality of its food under her leadership, and she is quick to share credit. “I’m really not sure how true it is [that Sidwell has the best school lunches] because I haven’t visited many other schools, but I know I was very impressed reading about other schools on that [Huffington Post] list,” she said.
“I think that my team was key,” Cunningham said. “We have to be very smart hiring and try to pick the best people and keep them motivated. Some have been here for a very long time and are very committed and really know what they’re doing. I am always asking for input and asking students and faculty and my staff what we can do to improve.”
Cunningham, who arrives everyday before seven and leaves in the early afternoon, has assistance from 13 chefs and dishwashers; however, people who have worked with her say it is her drive and willingness to go beyond that leads to the success of Sidwell’s lunches.
At the time, Cunningham said, sexism was common in the restaurant business, and Le Pavillon was the only French restaurant in Washington that would hire her. She rose quickly, going from a low-level position cutting vegetables to head pastry chef, one of the most demanding roles in the kitchen, while studying under head chef Yannick Cam.
While working at Le Pavillon, Cunningham met and eventually married Peter Gaylor, the restaurant’s French-trained sous chef. After getting married, the couple left Washington to start their own French restaurant, D’Artagnan, in Lyme, New Hampshire.
Cunningham, Sidwell’s executive chef, has cooked at the Willard Hotel, the Kennedy Center, and her own restaurant, which was named one of the fifty best in America by Conde Nast Traveler.
When her daughter was admitted to Sidwell as a student in 2004, Cunningham decided to take a job with the school’s food service operation, and her culinary skills quickly made a mark.
“It’s very gratifying to be leading a program and making a contribution to so many people every day,” Cunningham said in an early morning interview as she supervised the preparation of meals for 1,100 upper and middle school students and employees.
“It’s very gratifying to be leading a program and making a contribution to so many people every day,” Cunningham said in an early morning interview as she supervised the preparation of meals for 1,100 upper and middle school students and employees.
“It keeps me from looking for something else where you may be making fancier things, because I think about the sheer number of people we’re impacting everyday. That’s what keeps me here.”
By now, students and staff who have been at Sidwell for years might take the quality of the cafeteria options for granted, but dishes like tortellini, sauteed rainbow chard, and Belgian Radicchio are well beyond what the typical school serves for lunch.
A Google search for “Sidwell Friends food” turns up dozens of mentions on a wide variety of web sites. The Daily Meal, a food and drink blog, called the school’s cafeteria “luxurious . . . with cuisines you’d never dream of” and typical entree choices “look like they could appear on the menu at a wedding or a five-star restaurant.” In 2014, the Huffington Post named Sidwell No. 1 on its list of “Best School Lunches in America.”
By now, students and staff who have been at Sidwell for years might take the quality of the cafeteria options for granted, but dishes like tortellini, sauteed rainbow chard, and Belgian Radicchio are well beyond what the typical school serves for lunch.
A Google search for “Sidwell Friends food” turns up dozens of mentions on a wide variety of web sites. The Daily Meal, a food and drink blog, called the school’s cafeteria “luxurious . . . with cuisines you’d never dream of” and typical entree choices “look like they could appear on the menu at a wedding or a five-star restaurant.” In 2014, the Huffington Post named Sidwell No. 1 on its list of “Best School Lunches in America.”
Richard Swindell, the school’s Director of Business Operations who also supervises food service at Sidwell, said Cunningham has done wonders in improving the school’s food. “Rebecca is a gem,” he said. “Her ability to wrap her head around new foods and use them is huge, and she does so many things in house… she has brought us a long way.”
Cunningham is modest about the recognition Sidwell has received for the quality of its food under her leadership, and she is quick to share credit. “I’m really not sure how true it is [that Sidwell has the best school lunches] because I haven’t visited many other schools, but I know I was very impressed reading about other schools on that [Huffington Post] list,” she said.
“I think that my team was key,” Cunningham said. “We have to be very smart hiring and try to pick the best people and keep them motivated. Some have been here for a very long time and are very committed and really know what they’re doing. I am always asking for input and asking students and faculty and my staff what we can do to improve.”
Cunningham, who arrives everyday before seven and leaves in the early afternoon, has assistance from 13 chefs and dishwashers; however, people who have worked with her say it is her drive and willingness to go beyond that leads to the success of Sidwell’s lunches.
Swindell said that early in Cunningham’s tenure at Sidwell, the administration told her they had secured a local, authentic, kimchi vendor. Cunningham, however, decided she would rather make her own kimchi in-house instead of buying it from an outside source and risking a lower quality product.
Cunningham is responsible for ordering all of the cafeteria’s food, catering meetings throughout the school day, and writing recipes that feed hundreds of people, including one for tomato sauce that calls for five pounds of tomatoes in each batch.
Cunningham is responsible for ordering all of the cafeteria’s food, catering meetings throughout the school day, and writing recipes that feed hundreds of people, including one for tomato sauce that calls for five pounds of tomatoes in each batch.
Her leadership style is calm and collected even when the kitchen gets busy, and she is able to recite the life stories of most of her employees on cue, referring to the kitchen staff as “a big family.”
Cunningham was raised in the Washington area, studied psychology in college, and spent time as a counselor working at a summer camp for emotionally disturbed teenagers. She realized that she had a passion for cooking in early adulthood and trained at the Culinary Institute of America. In 1980, she was hired by Le Pavillon, a French restaurant in Washington.
Cunningham was raised in the Washington area, studied psychology in college, and spent time as a counselor working at a summer camp for emotionally disturbed teenagers. She realized that she had a passion for cooking in early adulthood and trained at the Culinary Institute of America. In 1980, she was hired by Le Pavillon, a French restaurant in Washington.
At the time, Cunningham said, sexism was common in the restaurant business, and Le Pavillon was the only French restaurant in Washington that would hire her. She rose quickly, going from a low-level position cutting vegetables to head pastry chef, one of the most demanding roles in the kitchen, while studying under head chef Yannick Cam.
While working at Le Pavillon, Cunningham met and eventually married Peter Gaylor, the restaurant’s French-trained sous chef. After getting married, the couple left Washington to start their own French restaurant, D’Artagnan, in Lyme, New Hampshire.
The restaurant was successful and widely acclaimed. In addition to the recognition from Conde Nast Traveler, Cunningham was featured on the cover of New England Monthly in January 1986. A New York Times review of D’Artagnan in 1987 noted that “the $25 prix fixe menu features such entrees as trout fillets with smoked salmon mousse, leg and fillet of rabbit with Gewurztraminer sauce and sea scallops and cucumber in vermouth sauce with golden caviar.”
The article continued: “Ms. Cunningham's talent has made her famous in Lyme and its environs. Her passion-fruit sorbet, white-chocolate mousse, Grand Marnier ice cream, pear dacquoise and apple tartlet, among other delicacies, have generated such demand she has opened a dessert shop.”
After the restaurant’s lease ended, Cunningham and Gaylor decided to move back to Washington, in part so they could spend more time with their daughter. Cunningham quickly found work in the institutional catering business, working at the Willard and the Kennedy Center. She also trained chefs at Whole Foods, where she gained experience working with locally grown, all-natural, organic ingredients, until she heard about a job opening at Sidwell.
Swindell said Cunningham applied at just the right time. Bruce Stewart, head of school at the time, was pushing the ideas of sustainability and conservation in the cafeteria, and Cunningham’s knowledge from her work at Whole Foods made her the perfect candidate.
Cunningham said, “I was very interested in using my background and applying it to a school menu. The school was looking for someone who could bring in fresh, house made cooking, because they were using a lot of frozen and even canned things in their food. I came and visited and saw how terribly conventional the food was and decided, ‘No problem, I can fix this up and change things very quickly.’”
Cunningham worked at Sidwell under a contract with Aramark, a large food service vendor. In 2006, the school gave the contract to Meriwether Godsey, a competing vendor. Although food service contractors usually bring their own staff, Sidwell’s administration was so impressed with Cunningham’s work that they asked that she stay under the new contract.
According to Swindell, Sidwell spends over $1.5 million a year on its food service operation. The cost of ingredients is about $2 for each meal, but when labor and other costs are are factored in, the total increases to about $5.50 per meal served.
These costs are on the high end of what most independent schools spend on food, but Sidwell does try to limit expenses. For example, Swindell said, the cafeteria does not serve many desserts, which are often not healthy and also tend to be pricey. Cunningham said she also takes care to limit how often she uses ingredients that are popular but expensive, like bacon.
Sidwell’s investment in good food, thanks to the work of Cunningham, has paid off. According to Admissions Outreach Coordinator CJ Gaffney, Cunningham’s work has transformed the cafeteria into an important selling point for Sidwell. “I find that food is a critical factor in helping to sell the school to potential students, especially during shadow visits,” Gaffney said. “I often mention our dining services during outreach visits, as well as during tours and information sessions, and it always receives a positive and enthusiastic response, especially from the students.”
Swindell said, “It’s a differentiator when you see the quality of food we’re serving. We always get schools coming in and asking, ‘What are you guys doing with your food’? It makes Sidwell Friends stand out, and having the price of lunch included in tuition is a huge advantage.”
Director of Dining Services Michael Ackerman, who oversees the cafeterias at the Wisconsin Avenue campus and at the Lower School, praises Cunningham’s chefs and her leadership.
The article continued: “Ms. Cunningham's talent has made her famous in Lyme and its environs. Her passion-fruit sorbet, white-chocolate mousse, Grand Marnier ice cream, pear dacquoise and apple tartlet, among other delicacies, have generated such demand she has opened a dessert shop.”
After the restaurant’s lease ended, Cunningham and Gaylor decided to move back to Washington, in part so they could spend more time with their daughter. Cunningham quickly found work in the institutional catering business, working at the Willard and the Kennedy Center. She also trained chefs at Whole Foods, where she gained experience working with locally grown, all-natural, organic ingredients, until she heard about a job opening at Sidwell.
Swindell said Cunningham applied at just the right time. Bruce Stewart, head of school at the time, was pushing the ideas of sustainability and conservation in the cafeteria, and Cunningham’s knowledge from her work at Whole Foods made her the perfect candidate.
Cunningham said, “I was very interested in using my background and applying it to a school menu. The school was looking for someone who could bring in fresh, house made cooking, because they were using a lot of frozen and even canned things in their food. I came and visited and saw how terribly conventional the food was and decided, ‘No problem, I can fix this up and change things very quickly.’”
Cunningham worked at Sidwell under a contract with Aramark, a large food service vendor. In 2006, the school gave the contract to Meriwether Godsey, a competing vendor. Although food service contractors usually bring their own staff, Sidwell’s administration was so impressed with Cunningham’s work that they asked that she stay under the new contract.
According to Swindell, Sidwell spends over $1.5 million a year on its food service operation. The cost of ingredients is about $2 for each meal, but when labor and other costs are are factored in, the total increases to about $5.50 per meal served.
These costs are on the high end of what most independent schools spend on food, but Sidwell does try to limit expenses. For example, Swindell said, the cafeteria does not serve many desserts, which are often not healthy and also tend to be pricey. Cunningham said she also takes care to limit how often she uses ingredients that are popular but expensive, like bacon.
Sidwell’s investment in good food, thanks to the work of Cunningham, has paid off. According to Admissions Outreach Coordinator CJ Gaffney, Cunningham’s work has transformed the cafeteria into an important selling point for Sidwell. “I find that food is a critical factor in helping to sell the school to potential students, especially during shadow visits,” Gaffney said. “I often mention our dining services during outreach visits, as well as during tours and information sessions, and it always receives a positive and enthusiastic response, especially from the students.”
Swindell said, “It’s a differentiator when you see the quality of food we’re serving. We always get schools coming in and asking, ‘What are you guys doing with your food’? It makes Sidwell Friends stand out, and having the price of lunch included in tuition is a huge advantage.”
Director of Dining Services Michael Ackerman, who oversees the cafeterias at the Wisconsin Avenue campus and at the Lower School, praises Cunningham’s chefs and her leadership.
“It’s all about the team. I feel like we have one of the best chefs I’ve ever worked for here. She’s just a dedicated quality professional. She is amazing and has a real passion for food. She’s kind of the one who drives all of this. A chef is by definition the owner of production, the person who really makes it happen, and that’s what she is.”
By Kelly Anderson, Horizon Staff Writer, February 2017
By Kelly Anderson, Horizon Staff Writer, February 2017
Comments
Post a Comment