Rafaelita “RC” Curva has the sort of reputation that draws people from all over California and even around the country, seeking her advice and expertise on how to improve their school lunch programs.

As director of the Davis school district’s student nutrition services for the past decade, Curva has played an integral role in the creation of tasty school lunches that make good use of local, farm-fresh food. She’s also played host to many delegations — from the federal government to small school districts — visiting the central kitchen on Fifth Street to see just how things are done in Davis.

Good thing she’s used to the flow of visitors: It isn’t likely to ebb any time soon, now that Curva’s reputation has spread across the Atlantic.

Curva recently was named one of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution Professionals” — making her one of just a dozen individuals singled out by Oliver for their efforts to improve the meals served to children in school.

Oliver, host of BBC’s “The Naked Chef” beginning in 1998, turned his attention to school lunches several years ago, first in his native UK, and then in the United States. His Emmy-winning primetime television series, “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” had the chef going into Huntington, W.Va. — statistically one of the most unhealthy cities in the country — to try to improve residents’ eating habits, not to mention the nutritional content of its school lunches.

Oliver’s approach was deemed innovative and necessary by some, unduly harsh and critical by others. His plans to overhaul the school lunch program in the Los Angeles Unified School District came to an abrupt halt earlier this year when the district banned Oliver’s cameras from its campuses.

This summer, Oliver decided to single out those chefs, school nutrition directors and other food professionals dedicated to providing healthy food that kids like to eat.

Curva’s not sure how he came to select her for the honor, but said the news was a big — and welcome — surprise.

“I received an email from (Oliver’s) director,” Curva said. “He said, ‘Can we feature you on our website as a hero?’

“It is very exciting,” she added, “and very humbling.”

Oliver, she noted, brought a lot of attention to school lunches, and though he was initially very critical of the food served to children in America’s schools, he’s since come to better understand the challenges school districts often face when it comes to serving healthy, tasty food, Curva said.

“The cost of producing meals varies from place to place,” she noted, and everything from demographics to location play a role in what ingredients are available and how they are used.

“There’s very little control that a food service director has,” Curva said. “And Jamie realizes that.”

The success in Davis, she added, “is a reflection of the district’s leadership, the response to the needs of children and families, and the involvement of the community.”

It’s also due in large part to Curva herself.

“I couldn’t be more pleased that RC is recognized by Jamie Oliver as a food revolution professional,” says local cook and author Ann M. Evans. “I have known her to be that for a decade.”

Evans and colleague Georgeanne Brennan have themselves played a key role in the farm-to-school connection in Davis, including by providing recipes and teaching cooking classes to student nutrition services employees. The two recently published the book “Cooking with California Food in K-12 Schools.”

“RC is a leader in her field and Davis is fortunate to have someone with her skill,” Evans said. “I have worked with her since she arrived … (and) she progressively ensured that the infrastructure for delivering farm fresh food on the school lunch plate was there every step of the way.”

That included not just planning the district’s central kitchen, but also systems for menus, ordering and commissary-style cooking.

Curva, Evans added, also provided her staff with cooking lessons “to learn seasonality, various ethnic flavors and produce they were not used to cooking with.”

The end result, according to Oliver, is that “locally grown, seasonal and sustainable foods are provided by working with local farmers, community-based organizations and food suppliers, which keep the menu fresh and nutritious … every school has a seasonal salad bar and hot entrée items, such as Thai Lemon Chicken, seasonal vegetables and organic rice.”

None of which could have happened, Evans said, “without RC’s professional background, skills, leadership, planning and good nature.

“I have learned so much from her and hope to continue to do so,” she said.

Evans also notes that Curva’s motto is “Eating to Learn and Learning to Eat.”

“I think that says it all,” she said.

To learn more about Oliver’s “Food Revolution Professionals,” visit http://www.jamieoliver.com/us/foundation/jamies-food-revolution/professional.

— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at [email protected] or (530) 747-8051.

New cookbook by Brennan and Evans available for free online

A free copy of the new cookbook by Georgeanne Brennan and Ann Evans — featuring recipes that were developed in the Davis school district’s kitchens in cooperation with Rafaelita Curva and the district’s nutrition staff — is available on the Center for EcoLiteracy’s website.

“Cooking with California Food in K-12 Schools” is a 153-page, illustrated cookbook that can be downloaded in PDF form online at http://www.ecoliteracy.org/cooking-with-california-food.

Although the cookbook is primarily intended for school kitchens, the recipes in the cookbook are scaled for families (6-8 servings) and and call for fresh seasonal California ingredients. The recipes trace their roots to European/Mediterranean, Mexican/Latin American, Asian, African, and Middle Eastern/Indian sources, reflecting the diverse population that lives in California today.

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Rafaelita “RC” Curva, director of the Davis school district’s student nutrition services, has been named one of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution Professionals” for her efforts to improve school meals. Wayne Tilcock/Enterprise photo

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