CHICKEN MUST MAKE KIDS' TASTE CUT STUDENTS' COMPLAINT ABOUT CAFETERIA FOOD GIVES PALATES A VOICE.Byline: LISA The first personal computer to include integrated software and use a graphical interface. Modeled after the Xerox Star and introduced in 1983 by Apple, it was ahead of its time, but never caught on due to its $10,000 price and slow speed. M. SODDERS Staff Writer WOODLAND HILLS -- Bob Goretski took a bite of the chicken patty in front of him, leaned back and bounced in his chair with excitement. ``Guys! I called it! This one's scrumptious,'' said Goretski, 17, of Woodland Hills. ``It's crunchy, it tastes better, it's high-quality, it's phenomenal.'' He paused. ``It could use a little more salt.'' Goretski, who aspires to be a food critic The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyses food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. , was one of about 25 El Camino Real High School El Camino Real High School (also known locally as "ECR" and by some more recently as "ELCO") is a public secondary school located in the Woodland Hills district of the San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. students who spent Thursday morning tasting three varieties of baked chicken patties to select a new brand for the campus cafeteria. Jamie Sanchez, nutrition specialist for Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Unified's District 1, said she and the other nutrition specialists routinely conduct taste tests with up to 40 students, trying new products and finding out what students like -- and hate -- about cafeteria fare. Thursday's sampling, however, came about as a result of a letter that student Michael Brannon, 16, of West Hills wrote to school board member Jon Lauritzen as part of a history assignment. In his letter, Brannon complained about the cafeteria's long lines In communications, circuits that are capable of handling transmissions over long distances. and the bland and unappealing food. ``By the time some people get up to the food court, some of the food is sold out, and people don't get to choose what they want,'' said Brannon, who wants to go into business or become a chef. ``People don't like the taco bean dip Noun 1. bean dip - a dip made of cooked beans dip - tasty mixture or liquid into which bite-sized foods are dipped because it doesn't look good; it doesn't look like something you'd find in a restaurant.'' Brannon said he was surprised to get a response to his letter -- he was the first in his class to get a reply -- and even more surprised to learn the school would get to participate in a taste test. He plans to write another letter, this time to Principal Kenny Lee, to ask for more improvements. Most of the students echoed Brannon's concerns about variety and said they wanted healthier choices. But 18-year-old Brandon Kafton of Woodland Hills, who plays right guard for the school's football team, disagreed. ``When you go home, your parents make you eat salads but here, you want something that tastes good between long lectures for hours on end,'' he said. Students today have more sophisticated palates, and want hot, favorful food that is restaurant-quality, said Sanchez, the nutrition specialist. Mexican and Asian cuisine Asian cuisine is a term sometimes used in the West as an umbrella term for the various cuisines of East Asia and Southeast Asia and for fusion dishes based on combining them. It does not usually include Polynesian, Central Asia or Middle Eastern cuisine. are the top requests, along with Subway sandwiches. The latter are too expensive for LAUSD LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District (Los Angeles, CA) to offer, but the district does its best to serve a reasonable facsimile, she said. Sanchez said the results of Thursday's tests will be tabulated and the product with the highest scores -- nothing less than a 70 percent approval rating will do -- will go on to be evaluated in terms of cost, ease of preparation, nutritional value and other variables. lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3663 CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Bob Goretski, 17, samples chicken patties Thursday with fellow El Camino Real High School students in the school's cafeteria to determine which new foods will go on the cafeteria menu. Students tried three varieties of chicken patties, below right. Michael Owen
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