School food service workers get ‘reel’ about Maine fish

In the movie “Finding Nemo,” Bruce the shark famously said, “Fish are our friends, not food."

During a Foundational Fish Skills training held at Loranger Middle School in Old Orchard Beach, attendees learned about different fish species, how to prepare them, and how to cook a tasty selection of dishes for a crowd.

The training was requested by Leah Botko, food service director for Regional School Unit 23, in conjunction withGulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland; Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, based in Brunswick and Maine Farm & Sea to School in Hallowell. The workshop focused on including more fish into students’ diets.

Botko has a bachelor’s in nutrition from Framingham University in Massachusetts andstarted working for RSU 23, serving Old Orchard Beach schools, in October. The RSU had already been working with Maine Coast Fisherman’s Association, and were looking for schools to host events. “So we volunteered to host,” Botko said.

Why seafood? “We do a lot of local sourcing in OOB and I figured what's more local than seafood?,” Botko said. “It’s such a healthy protein for our students. It's misrepresented; a lot of students think it’s not tasty. The best way to fight that is to make it as tasty as possible.”

Crunchy Baked Fish, Iraqi Seven Spiced Fish Over Tomato Rice, and Buffalo Fish Dip were on the menu for the food service workers to sample.

The goals for the seminar were building basic skills needed to work with raw fish, showcasing the diversity of local seafood species available and building knowledge and increasing sea-to-school buy-in.

Susan Olcott, director of strategic partnerships for MCFA, said Maine Coast Fisherman’s Association not only educates, its Fishermen Feeding Mainers program donates to schools and food banks across the state.

According to Ali Mediate, founder and member of Maine Foodscapes and the local food coordinator for York and Cumberland counties, under the Feed Fund school districts get 50% back on up to $20,000 in local food purchases.

The participants from Old Orchard, Buxton, Westbrook, Kennebunk, South Portland and Gorham were clearly excited to learn more about fin fish, with lots of chatter and group photos as they leaned into a game about role-playing suppliers and buyers.

“Being a commercial fisherman is hard work. This is why we do this,” said presenter Sophie Scott of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. “One thing we are trying to get across today … many types of fish are interchangeable.”

Local food pantry volunteer Deb Thomas said she attended “because we get a lot of fish and people don’t know how to cook it. I’m here to find out how to gain simple insight on how to prepare and recipes.”

“It’s good to educate us in all aspects,” Thomassaid. “We just got a bunch of monkfish.”

(Earlier, Olcott admitted that monkfish “looks horrible,” but “It’s delicious.”)

Chef Mike Flynn, nutrition director of RSU 12 in Sheepscot Valley, helped train the women in attendance on how to prepare fillets and weigh portions. He also shared his recipe for Maine Potato Fish Egg Muffins.

The collaboration is just one of several the Old Orchard Beach schools have with Maine sources. Botko said the food service department works with the Good Crust in Skowhegan; every other Friday the kitchens use locally milled grains to make pizzas “and it’s so delicious.”

Burgers are sourced from Maine Family Farms; Cluck Ya supplies chicken – whose employees are as funny as the company name, Botko said; lettuce comes from Vertical Farms and micro greens come from Peak Season in Freedom are served.

“It’s important for students to be exposed to new food,” Botko said. “It’s important because fish is so nutrient dense. … There’s not a reason it’s not important.”

Ann Fisher is a freelance journalist based in Southern Maine. She can be reached at 432-7483