Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition

Welcome to CICN

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) identified a need to provide schools with the training, tools, and resources to prepare student- accepted school meals, thereby increasing student consumption of healthy foods and reducing plate waste. The ICN has over 25 years of experience providing training to school nutrition programs on various topics, including culinary skills, marketing school meals, student engagement, and food safety. The USDA and ICN have collaborated to create the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition, a division of the ICN, with a principal mission to increase the culinary skills of school nutrition programs by providing culinary training programs and resources to support Child Nutrition Operators to prepare and serve healthy, culinary-inspired school meals from scratch and elevate the cafeteria atmosphere.

Culinary Quick Bites

New Resource:

Facility Design and Equipment Purchasing for School Nutrition Programs

This manual serves as a comprehensive guide for school nutrition professionals engaged in the design, renovation, and equipment procurement for school nutrition facilities.

CICN brochure

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Resource Categories

Baking

Baking

Basic Kitchen Equipment

Flavor Enhancements

Batch Cooking

Flavor Enhancements

Blanching and Shocking

Blanching and Shocking

Cold Kitchen Techiques

Flavor Enhancements

Cooking Grains

Cooking Grains

Cooking Methods and Recipes

Flavor Enhancements

Egg Cookery

Egg Cookery

Flavor Enhancement

Flavor Enhancements

Knife Skills

Flavor Enhancements

Menu Planning Tools

Menu Planning

Mise En Place

Mis en Place

Portioning

Mis en Place

Preparing Beans and Legumes

Beans and Legumes

Preparing Fruits and Vegetables

Flavor Enhancements

Salad Bar

Flavor Enhancements

Seafood to Schools

Flavor Enhancements

Weights and Measures

Weights and Measures