TOWER- It has become an annual tradition at Vermilion Country School, and the all-school Thanksgiving meal once again did not disappoint. Students in Chef Chris Glazer’s culinary class prepared almost all the food from scratch, and students in the art class created table decorations and learned the classic art of folding linen napkins. Other staff and students set the tables and created a formal seating chart. Each place setting had a place card, with teachers and staff interspersed between the 50-plus students.
As it moved closer to the dinner hour of 12 noon, students moved prepared side dishes into the warming ovens to free up space in the kitchen, while school director Sam O’Brien carved up the turkey. Glazer had a student dishwashing crew keeping up with the all the huge pots and pans.
And then the entire school sat down at tables arranged in a large rectangle, with students and staff taking turns reciting what they were thankful for, and then going through the buffet line to load their plates with side dishes, with other serving dishes strategically placed on the tables.
This year’s feast included turkey with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, winter squash, grilled corn, smoked deviled eggs, and a green salad. It honestly didn’t all fit on a dinner plate. For dessert there was pumpkin pie, and an assortment of quick breads.
There was plenty of food, and plenty leftover. Many expressed thanks to Chef Chris for the amazing meal. And knowing how Chef Chris manages his kitchen, the leftovers would be frozen to become ingredients in upcoming school lunches.
But the Thanksgiving food preparation wasn’t quite over. Glazer and some of his culinary students were back at school on Wednesday, which was a vacation day for students, having been hired to prepare the community Thanksgiving meal sponsored by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Soudan, where they served over 70 community members.