First-of-its-kind equipment, grant-funded training and tested recipes expand fresh meal choices for Franklin students

Franklin, TN — School cafeteria food has come a long way from relying primarily on heat-and-serve products. At Franklin Special District, a multiyear investment in scratch cooking, professional training and innovative equipment is giving cafeteria employees the tools and skills to prepare more meals from fresh ingredients.

FSD is the first school district in Tennessee to use Firex automated electric tilting braising pans in every school kitchen. The advanced commercial equipment will help cafeteria teams efficiently prepare large quantities of food while maintaining quality and consistency.

Valued at $20,000 per unit and paid for by grant funds, the Firex can prepare large batches of sauces, soups, pasta dishes and other foods while managing much of the cooking process automatically. It stirs food as it cooks, helping prevent sticking and burning and reducing the need for constant monitoring by kitchen staff. This allows cafeteria employees to focus on other parts of meal preparation while still producing scratch-made recipes during a busy school day.

The equipment is one part of the FSD’s larger effort to make scratch cooking a sustainable part of everyday cafeteria operations. That work began in 2019 through the Chef Ann Foundation’s Get Schools Cooking program, which helps school districts transition gradually from highly processed, heat-and-serve foods to meals prepared with fresh ingredients.

Since then, FSD has introduced new recipes in deliberate stages while developing employee skills and increasing the capacity of its school kitchens. Last year, the 2025-26 school year, the district expanded its offerings to include scratch-made spice blends, pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, and macaroni and cheese.

Two years of specialized scratch-cooking training and the new Firex equipment have been funded through grants secured by FSD Food and Culinary Services Supervisor Robbin Cross. The outside funding has enabled the district to pair top-of-the-line kitchen equipment with professional culinary instruction, helping employees use the technology effectively and translate that investment into better choices for students.

“Over the past five years, we have worked hard to secure the funding to bring more scratch cooking into the school cafeteria,” Cross said. “By combining grants totaling more than a million dollars, we have been able to provide training, better ingredients, and now the physical equipment in our schools.”

This week, professional chefs Chris Fersch and Danny Cerqueda are working alongside FSD Food and Culinary Services employees at schools throughout the district. They are training cafeteria teams to use the new equipment while testing and refining recipes that can be prepared successfully in large quantities and incorporated into regular school menus.

The chefs and cafeteria employees are preparing dishes such as spaghetti with homemade sauce, creamy chicken Alfredo, and dried beans soaked overnight and seasoned with fresh ingredients. Together, they are adjusting ingredients, preparation methods and cooking times to ensure the recipes are flavorful, practical for school kitchens, and consistent across large numbers of servings.

The hands-on training happening across the school kitchens this week will leave FSD cafeteria teams with tested recipes and practical techniques they can continue using after the chefs’ visit. It will also help the district expand its scratch-made offerings to include additional sauces, soups and complete entrées.

“I am excited that FSD will now be able to add fresh scratch-cooked soup to the menus because of the training and work this week with the Firex equipment,” Cross said.  “This is just one of many steps we have taken to continue to improve our program and to meet the expectations of excellence in our district.”

“Franklin Special District is leading the way by recognizing that successful scratch cooking requires skilled employees, well-equipped kitchens, and recipes that take advantage of the freshest ingredients,” Fersch said. “This equipment doesn’t replace staff, but it helps them use their time and talents more efficiently. This will create more opportunities to prepare quality food from scratch. Students are the ones who benefit, and FSD is providing a model other school districts can follow.”

Fersch is a culinary professional, educator, and commercial cooking technology specialist with more than 25 years of experience. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, he has held culinary leadership and instructional roles with nationally recognized organizations. He currently serves as regional vice president of culinary and consultant services for Southbend, Firex, Crown Steam Group and Market Forge.

Cerqueda is the director of culinary sales at The Hansen Group and brings more than 25 years of culinary experience to his role. He serves as president of the Atlanta Chefs Association and holds advisory positions with several culinary education and professional organizations.

Franklin Special District is a prekindergarten through eighth-grade public school district serving the families of historic Franklin, Tennessee, in eight schools.

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