Green Ventures Academy Hosted Thanksgiving Lunch

Photo by Jack Waller | Staff and students line up to get Thanksgiving lunch.

On Nov. 19th, Green Ventures Academy (GVA) hosted their annual Thanksgiving Lunch. All GVA students and many staff members were offered a buffet-style lunch with most Thanksgiving staples. The lunch, organized by Chef Moschetti, included turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and more--to the pleasure of all attendees.

The invitees all reported their satisfaction with the quality of the food; one of these students, Josefina Hernandez Paredes (12), shared their experience, “The food was delicious. I enjoyed it a lot and I got two plates to make that point.” Dane Harris (12), another senior honored at the event and known for his detailed and accurate food critiques, commented that the food was “pretty good.” The consensus was the same among the other interviewed students.

The student-prepared food was not only of good quality, but diverse, including the previously mentioned Thanksgiving staples, as well as roasted vegetables, stuffing (non-vegetarian and vegetarian), sweet potatoes, ham, mac and cheese, and chocolate chip cookies. Attendee Daniel Patton (11) stated that “the food options were plentiful,” and Harris once again commented that the selection was “pretty good.” The most lacking part of the lunch was the vegetarian options, only consisting of a handful of dishes. Though the options were limited, Taran Bharathidasan (11), a vegetarian, still commented that “the vegetarian selection was okay.”

With so many options and many attendees, the favorite dish naturally had some variability. The most common choice seemed to be the mac and cheese, with Chef Moschetti reporting that “the mac and cheese was a hit as always.” Patton agreed with this statement, and Bharathidasan commented that he “found the mac and cheese at the Green Ventures Academy lunch to be quite palatable.” However, mac and cheese is not everyone’s favorite, with Harris commenting that he “likes chicken nuggies,” while Hernandez Paredes preferred the mashed potatoes.

In terms of the preparation for the dinner, there were some ups and downs compared to last year’s. Chef Moschetti reported that “the turkey was an improvement from last year,” but also that “the mashed potatoes could be creamier.” Harris agrees with this statement, adding that the food “could be pretty good-er” while not discounting the improvements made. Overall, the students agreed that the food had a net increase in quality, a show of Chef Moschetti’s excellent direction.

Not everything at this year’s lunch was completely smooth. An incident occurred as a consequence of a batch chocolate chip cookie not being made to the recipe. The “The Cookie Brick” experiment ended up a sludgy mess after almost double the amount of chocolate chips listed were thrown into the dough. This gave the cookie an overly liquid consistency due to the melted chocolate constituting a majority of the mixture. Participants were quick to point fingers, with Harris stating, “It’s Josefina’s fault.”

When questioned, Hernandez Paredes commented,  “Don't trust your instincts, kids.” Though the cookie brick was far from a cookie, Bharathidasan, another participant, is pleased to report that he “still ate it.” Patton, also consumed some of the cookie, stating that it was “Scrumdidilyumptious,” but also “a little bit evil.”

Despite one unfortunate event, the Thanksgiving lunch hosted by Green Ventures Academy is regarded as a success, with most attendees leaving more than satisfied.

Chef Moschetti commented, “The students who helped cook, prep, and serve did well.”