Korean beef bibimbap bowl, guava pastelito and mango freeze parfait. Not your typical school lunch—and that’s just the point.
With the first day of school around the corner, students from across Los Angeles Unified gathered at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools on Thursday, Aug. 7, for a first taste of the district’s newly revamped 2025-2026 Café LA menu. Officials said the tasting was part of the district’s push to serve healthy, creative and student-driven meals.
High school students sample Guava Pastelito and Steak, Egg and Cheese Kolaches during a special LAUSD menu tasting at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Students were sampling items from this year’s updated Café LA menu. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) A student tries a date from Aziz Farms in Coachella Valley after participating in judging a special LAUSD menu at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. The students were sampling items from this year’s updated Café LA menu. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) A special LAUSD menu rating is seen at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Students sampled items from this year’s updated Café LA menu. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) A sample plate of Crispy Chicken Sliders with Fresh Slaw, Beef Birria Burrito and Café LA Homestyle Mac & Cheese is part of the special LAUSD menu tasting at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Students were sampling items from this year’s updated Café LA menu. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Dereon Jones, 17, Kimberly Valencia, 17, and Joanna Joo, 18, along with other high school students sample Guava Pastelito and Steak, Egg and Cheese Kolaches during a special LAUSD menu tasting at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. The students were sampling items from this year’s updated Café LA menu. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Alexander Brant, 9, eats broccoli from a beef bowl during a special LAUSD menu tasting at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Students were sampling items from this year’s updated Café LA menu. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) “He has good taste buds,” says Chef Susan Feniger of her judging partner 10-year-old Noel Gonon as they sample Guava Pastelito and Steak, Egg and Cheese Kolaches during a special LAUSD menu tasting at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Students were sampling items from this year’s updated Café LA menu. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) With a half eaten date in his hand Lucas Ceballos checks out a purple carrot from Aziz Farms in Coachella Valley as Superintendent Alberto Carvalho holds a produce bag for him after they participated in judging a special LAUSD menu at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Students were sampling items from this year’s updated Café LA menu. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 8High school students sample Guava Pastelito and Steak, Egg and Cheese Kolaches during a special LAUSD menu tasting at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025. Students were sampling items from this year’s updated Café LA menu. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) ExpandThe special tasting event came as the nation’s second-largest school district gears up for the first day of school on Thursday, Aug. 14. It brought students face-to-face with Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho and special guest Susan Feniger, a Los Angeles restauranteur, chef and Food Network star.
Students chatted, swapped opinions and shuffled trays while working their way through the new menu items, while Carvalho and Feniger offered tips and encouragement. Participants filled out special menu rating cards, noting whether they were elementary, middle school or high school students, or parents and guardians, and gave each dish a thumbs up or down.
A standout of the day? The Korean beef bibimbap bowl, developed by student chefs at John H. Francis Polytechnic High during L.A .Unified’s inaugural Student & Celebrity Chef Challenge.
The full tasting menu featured two new breakfast options: a savory breakfast kolache and a vegan guava apple pastry; four new lunch entrées like crispy chicken sliders and homestyle mac & cheese, beef birria burrito; as well as a vegetarian mango freeze parfait for supper. The tasting also featured highlights from the Café LA Farmer’s Harvest table—seasonal items made with fresh produce sourced from local farms.
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