Skill in Every Dish: Three Questions with Ocean View School District’s Patience Boulais
February 24, 2026
Patience Boulais is the Supervisor of Nutrition Operations & Special Programs at Ocean View School District in Oxnard, CA.
What’s a healthy recipe your students love to eat?
Ocean View School District has been in the scratch cooking world for about 10 years now. We were one of the early districts to get involved with the Chef Ann Foundation, and we’ve continued to train, develop and improve over the years. Today, our team makes about 90% of our meals from scratch, which gives us the ability to get creative. We make chili dogs on a pretzel bun with our special lentil chili. Our cheese sauces have a base of five different vegetables. We even serve a cauliflower alfredo that’s really popular.
One big hit is a butternut squash mac and cheese that I developed. We wanted to teach our students about the difference between powdered mac and cheese and the real deal. Real cheese isn’t neon orange! So, we did a survey with students and asked if they’d be willing to try a new mac and cheese recipe with a secret ingredient. After they tried it — and loved it — we told them it had butternut squash in it! On Halloween, we did a spin on it by replacing the squash with pumpkin, and they went crazy for that, too. Even the preschoolers gobbled it up.
What do you wish people knew about school meals?
I wish people understood how much dedication and work goes on behind the scenes to provide meals that offer the best to students, from taste to the ingredient quality and nutritional standards. There’s a lot of love and skill that goes into every dish, and our kids eat really well.
We feed kids, and that matters. But that’s not all we do. We also help them learn about food, where it comes from and how it’s made. We’ve got a school garden, and we taught the preschoolers here how to grow a pumpkin. We took them out and had them dig the hole and plant the seeds, so they could really learn about it hands-on. There’s something so rewarding about teaching kids to understand food, cook for themselves and be self-sufficient.
School Food Professionals see students every single day of their educational career, from pre-K to graduation. We build trust and a bond and we’re there as they grow. We create a safe space. I’ve had a lot of kids who have wanted to just sit with me. Once, I was out at a restaurant, and a girl came up to me… I’d known her in second grade, and here it was, 15 years later, and she was telling everyone there that I was her favorite.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in school food?
Communication is huge. The more you communicate — with teachers, administration and families — the more they’ll see the value of what you’re doing. Then they’ll encourage the kids to participate. I often talk to teachers to see if we can sync up what we’re cooking with the curriculum, so it’s win-win. Along with that, you have to be willing to grow. Keep building your skills, trying new things, researching and learning. Keep an open mind. Always strive to improve and evolve.
I love this job. It’s the best food service career you can have — no contest. You get to make a big difference for kids and families, all while cooking delicious meals that make kids healthy and happy.