At 4 a.m. each school day, Joe Hernandez, the cafeteria’s head cook, arrives on campus to begin preparing the breakfasts and lunches that will be eaten later by about 900 students. His workday is from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is necessary to meet all the demands of large-batch cooking.
The district’s meal program’s finances are tracked in Fund 13 (Cafeteria Fund) in their budget reports, which supports cafeterias at both LHS and SHS. In the 2025-26 Adopted Budget Report, Fund 13 is budgeted to receive about $2.103 million in total revenue, a slight decrease from the district’s 2024-25 estimated actual revenue of about $2.116 million.
Between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m., assistant cook Marivel Escobedo and five other assistants — Amela Bholat, Barbara Herror, John Juarez, Zaida Ventocilla and Luz Montes Beltran — trickle in to help Hernandez prep ingredients and package the meals for the day.
“We’re doing a lot of prepping, a lot of cutting, a lot of cooking and then chopping the meats,” Escobedo said. “The cook does the main big batches and then we’re there to help him. Any other sides that he might need that he can’t tend to, we’re there to cut it for him or prepare it for him.”
When Escobedo started working at the cafeteria 10 years ago, most food came pre-packaged and frozen. Then came major changes in the 2022-23 school year, when the cafeteria staff shifted from pre-packaged and frozen meals to making more meals from scratch daily.
Since then, the kitchen has undergone a massive transformation to make fresh food for students. Now, items like salad dressings, spaghetti sauce, cheese sauce and pizza dough are all made by the staff early in the morning.
Escobedo said Los Gatos High principal Dave Poetzinger and a consultant chef from Chicago, Paul Boundas, were behind this change in the district. Ever since the cafeteria staff’s contract with Boundas, who provided expertise in cost-effective nutrition, ended last year, the team has had more freedom to experiment with food.
As the head chef, Hernandez brings a professional background to the school cafeteria, having worked in restaurants like Original Joe’s in San Jose and the Wine Cellar in Los Gatos.
By about 9:30 a.m., the staff pivot their attention to side dishes and assembly as the breakfast rush begins at 10 a.m. Since the 2022 implementation of California’s Universal Meals Program, schools must provide two free school lunches for all students. Escobedo noted the cafeteria now feeds approximately 80% of the student body each day.
Because the kitchen is constantly prepping or serving meals, the staff must find time for their own meals during the rush. The team often brings their own lunch and takes breaks on a staggered schedule to ensure the kitchen is fully staffed. Once the students are fed after lunch, the cooking stops, but the labor continues.
Around 1 p.m., the staff begins a thorough cleaning and sanitization process to reset the kitchen for the next day. They take time thoroughly spraying down countertops, cleaning cookware and resetting all equipment. Additionally, they run every cooking tool through the dishwasher to ensure everything is ready for the next day.
Ultimately, the team’s intensive labor every early morning is driven by a commitment to the students’ health and experience.
“I’m happy to come to work, cook and see you guys when you come through the line and socialize,” Escobedo said. “I really do love my job.”
