Globe-trotting taste buds

Taher Corporate Chef Amanda Barnes talks with two JWMS students as she dishes up Lebanese chicken shawarma last week. Star Journal photos

Rhinelander students get a taste of Mid-Eastern street food

By Eileen Persike

Editor

RHINELANDER – Imagine being transported to a country halfway around the world just by eating lunch. That’s what happened with James Williams Middle School kids last week when they were treated to Lebanese chicken shawarma.

The dish is a popular street food and is made up of a pita piled with seasoned grilled chicken strips, lettuce, tomato and an herbed Greek yogurt sauce, served with fries. It was courtesy of Taher Corporate Chef Amanda Barnes, who said she enjoys giving students the opportunity to taste something they may not have had before.

“I love it,” Barnes said. “I try to let the kids know it’s okay if you don’t like it, too, because I want them to feel comfortable trying it. I love to see them experience a love for something they hadn’t experienced before. That’s really rewarding.”

Taher is the contracted food service provider for the School District of Rhinelander. Barnes visits schools throughout Wisconsin as the regional chef for Taher’s K-12 division. She may be introducing a new fruit or vegetable to elementary aged students, teaching kids after school how to make something from scratch or feeding older kids a dish from another country.

SDR Food Service Director Pat Karaba said menu choices like the shawarma excites kids about the country and the food itself.

“It takes them out of the realm of pizza daily, burgers every day,” Karaba said. “We do a great job, I think, and the staff does a wonderful job of offering different foods, but when you get the chef to bring in something totally out of our realm it just steps it up a notch.”

A group of Taher chefs travel abroad every year and bring back recipes to try; the Lebanese chicken shawarma is one of those recipes.