A national push aimed at eating healthier is being passed along to the National Parks Service and there are some local connections to the effort.The Park Service is pushing the private companies which run restaurants and hotels in parks across the country to get more into healthy foods. The push kicked off earlier this week with a cookout on the National Mall in Washington.
Buffalo-based Delaware North is a major hospitality operator in national parks, including Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Shenandoah Park in Virginia.
Sam Caldwell is executive chef for Big Meadows Lodge in Shenandoah. His last assignment before that was in Niagara Falls. In Virginia, Caldwell says he buys pork and mushrooms from farms near the lodge along with heritage tomatoes in season. He is even producing lo-calorie salad dressings using blackberries from the neighborhood.
Calling it a sea change in resort food to change to add new healthy foods to the menu, Caldwell says his experience in Niagara Falls showed him how to do it gradually.
"We changed the sides on the kids' meals from french fries to apples or apple sauce or things like that. So, it gave the parents a chance to give something for their kids that's a little healthier. That's kind of the way that I would approach it if I was having a Labor Day cookout myself. I'd say I still want that steak but maybe I'll have grilled apples or grilled potatoes instead of potato salad with mayonnaise," Caldwell says.
Even before First Lady Michelle Obama became involved, Caldwell says resorts have been changing their menus to reflect customer requests for healthier options like salad dressings using blackberries from Shenandoah or more fruit juices.
He says his restaurant offers cooking demonstrations to show how to prepare and use healthier options.
