There is a common complaint that school starts too early, that someone had to get up at 6:30, 6:00 or even 5:30 to ensure they get to school before the bell at 8:00. Hardly anybody is ready to learn or even keep their eyes open that early, but did you know that some of the lunch ladies need to be at school by 4:30? Often forgotten or overlooked, the lunch ladies do quite a lot to prepare breakfast and lunch for the students, things that you likely wouldn’t think of.
Cook and baker Patricia Smick gets to the school by 4:30 each morning to unload groceries from the delivery trucks and to make breakfast and all the lunches for the day. She then tends to the coffee bar in the morning once students arrive. Junior Gabe Zeglis, who works the coffee bar with Smick, said, “She’s humorous and easy to joke with. She always makes sure the drinks are made perfectly.” After the 7:55 bell rings, she closes up shop and heads back to the kitchen to take charge and start preparing the pizza and fries, which are made right before lunch begins to ensure freshness. Then, it is time for restocking, cleaning, cleaning and a bit more cleaning before Smick leaves for the day. “The mornings are very early and very fast-paced, but I love tending the breakfast bar each morning,” Smick said.
While being a chef at the school, Smick also works as a baker at Steve’s Bakery on the weekends where she prepares the donuts and stocks cases, and she caters for The Cheese Shoppe. Smick has been working as a cook for the school for 37 years, catering for The Cheese Shoppe for 30 years, and baking at Steve’s Bakery for three years. “Once I get a job, I don’t budge; I’ll stay as long as I can,” Smick said.
After being in the kitchen all week, Smick still enjoys golfing, shopping and cooking for her family, especially on holidays. Smick is great at taking charge of the kitchen and making sure there is enough food to feed all, roughly 1,200 students. On behalf of the student body, thank you for working so hard to keep the food safe and plentiful.
