Palos Verdes Teen To Compete In New York Meatball Competition

PALOS VERDES, CA – Teen chef Holden Dahlerbruch is heading to New York to compete in the Rapidfire Meatball Competition at the International Restaurant and Foodservice Show. His dish? Turkey Herb Meatballs, which have been added to the lunch menu in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District.

Dahlerbruch started working with the district to improve its lunch program over a year ago, according to Daily Breeze, and he adhered to all the federal guidelines for food served at public schools when creating his meatball recipe. His recipe is the first he created following U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines that the district has to follow when serving student lunches.

“When I have the legal ability to only use 740 milligrams of sodium in one lunch, it can be a challenge,” Dahlerbruch told Daily Breeze.

A tweet from Superintendent Don Austin prompted Dahlerbruch's help in revitalizing his school's lunch menu. After learning about how the district abides by the guidelines set, and how they purchase ingredients, he conducted a districtwide survey with students.

In that, he learned that there's a preference for Asian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean flavors, the Daily Breeze reports. The 17-year-old now leads a food subcommittee that continues to give suggestions for the school menu. One of the most popular changes is a featured item that changes every month.

“What he’s really great at is seeing what the food trends are and hearing what fellow students are interested in eating,” Christina Lin, director of food services for PVPUSD, told Daily Breeze. “From there, we see how we can work with some of those of ideas within the nutritional guidelines.”

Read more about Dahlerbruch's story on Daily Breeze

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