'Food Dude' opens home-grown website 2/22/07

Tim Cipriano has been the director of Food Services for the Bloomfield school district since July 1, 2006, described himself as a self-taught chef.

His 15 years of experience in the culinary arts, which includes working at several restaurants in the Northeast, has resulted in a website for school nutrition professionals - www.localfooddude.com.
The purpose of the site, which he started last month, is to support locally grown fruits, vegetables and other food sources. The site emphasizes sustainable food sources in the New England region, and includes information ranging from recipes to a list of local farms.
About 40 staff members working under Cipriano, who previously worked as the chef for Dodd Middle School in Cheshire. He has three children and his wife Maura is a teacher.
He discussed recipes he introduced to the district as part of a pilot program, such as "Squapple Crisp." The treat, which combines a winter squash and an apple crisp topped with cornflakes, is considered the most popular.
"There's something different," he said. "That makes it more exciting. We want to try different things than the kids are used to eating."
He also works in cooperation with the Connecticut Farm to School Program, which operates under the auspices of the departments of agriculture. It has been in place for a few years and supports local farmers, he said.
"Instead of apples that were picked in (the state of) Washington and shipped here, you have apples from Connecticut that were picked a few days ago," said Cipriano regarding the program. He said the reduction of emissions from delivery trucks traveling across the country to deliver food could be reduced by local deliveries, he said.
"It is healthier for the environment, for the economic climate and for the consumers," he said.
The program has been discussed by the Department of Environmental Protection because of the effect that climate changes can have on certain foods.
He has also worked with the program "Fresh Fruits and Vegetables," which serves 25 school districts, and will participate in a forthcoming NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) discussion panel at Windsor High School.
By: Brian Woodman Jr., Staff Writer
©Bloomfield Journal 2007