“My main focus, when I started here three years ago as a director, it was not fixing—there was nothing wrong with the food. But I want to elevate it,” says Julio Montes, Chartwell’s Director of Dining Services and Executive Chef for Branford Public Schools (BPS). “I want to make sure my staff members and the kids get in love with the food.”

That includes developing delicious, healthy, and nutritious meals for students at the elementary, middle school, and high school level. Branford High School (BHS) students get the benefit of foods fitting into federal guidelines with the added twist of Julio’s creativity and his desire to help everyone—from kitchen staff to students—”engage” in their dining experience.

“I started to engage them to try the food,” says Julio. “Even some of the staff, it used to be I’d hear them say, ‘I don’t like school food.’ I want to change that mentality. I tell them to treat it like it’s your restaurant. There’s nothing that makes you more happy than to put out product that you’re proud of. That’s what we try to do every day.”

On a daily basis, especially at BHS, there are many opportunities for kids to figure out flavors and have a hand in creating a healthy dish. Staying within guidelines (every reimbursable meal needs to include 53 percent whole grain products, fruits, vegetables or a combination of both, protein, and dairy), Julio creates opportunities to experiment.

“I like to de-construct dishes,” he says. “So Lo Mein, for example, the recipe will tell you to mix all of the ingredients. At the high school, we’ll have a noodle bowl instead, with all the ingredients separated—whole grain noodles, the pork or chicken, the sauce, steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots—and kids can make their own. It’s always very satisfying when you sit down with this kid and you see a whole different recipe; this one likes broccoli and pork, another like chicken and cauliflower. That’s what makes it fun for them.”

The district also offers “all of the favorites—chicken patties, pizza, burgers,” says Julio, with an eye toward federal guidelines, such as using properly proportioned whole grain pizza dough. This year, Julio’s excited to add a special item to Walsh Intermediate School (WIS) which fits the guidelines—homemade smoothies.

“We’ve received a [NFL initiative] ‘Fuel Up to Play 60’ grant for the third year and we used it to purchase smoothie machines for the middle school,” he says.

At BHS, Julio is considering offering Bento Boxes (selected foods in little container portions) at the cafeteria’s take-out station. Additionally, by the middle of the first semester, Julio hopes to be offering some after-hours healthy alternatives for kids in the BHS building.

“We’re going to try something new at the high school,” he says. “We’re going to close (after lunch) and open for another hour and maybe do some smoothies and stuff like that, for the kids like the athletes that need an extra boost.”

Meanwhile, special events at BHS, such as “Farm to Chef” week in the fall, will help broaden taste buds. Big hits last year included kabobs and vegetables with a Greek flair (using local goat cheese in a creamy cucumber tzatziki sauce) and Venezuelan-style arepas (a toasted yellow corn meal pocket, served hot and stuffed with black beans, local cheeses and braised pork).

“Because we’re buying local and in season, we’re able to add those types of dishes without increasing costs,” Julio explains, noting State Senator Ted Kennedy Jr. (D, District 12, Branford) has asked for his help on an act being developed at the state level to bring the program to school cafeterias across the state.

Julio is also planning on expanding tastes and flavors offered to students in the school district with “Flavors of the World” introduced during the month of October.

“Believe it or not, there’s a lot of diversity in this district,” says Julio. “We’re very good with the pasta with the Asian food; but we’re taking advantage of that promotion for entire month of October to bring in a lot flavors from the world — food from Ecuador, Thai food, some Philippine food, maybe some Indian food as well. We’re going to try a lot of new things while still staying in the (required meal) patterns.”

Considering Julio was part of Puerto Rico’s two-time Gold Medal team in the Culinary Olympics, it’s probably no surprise that he has a passion for layers of flavor added to every dish.

Julio came to America in 2007 after he was recruited as a corporate executive by Cheesecake Factory, due to his proven track record as a fine dining chef, executive chef and general manager and director of huge corporate dining programs, including overseeing corporate dining island-wide for Puerto Rico’s largest pharmaceutical group. His leading management role with Cheesecake Factory eventually brought him to West Hartford.

“After two years, I made a family decision because I was working 16 hours a day, 10 days straight—and that was a little difficult for my family,” says Julio, married and a father of two.

He had previously worked with Compass Group in Puerto Rico and went back to the group to apply for a job in the organization, finding Chartwells in Connecticut. He was hired as Chartwells Executive Chef for Stamford School system (24 schools), then promoted to overseeing the culinary aspect of the company for the entire state as well as Western Massachusetts. When he was offered a Director position, Julio realized it was time to “get back to the food.”

“I like to play with the food, that’s what I like,” he says. “To be in a chair is not my forte. I’m very good, in terms of the administration side of it, but what I like is to play with the food and teach people how to cook and develop flavors. Coming to K-12 was so difficult for me, to adjust from this restaurant mentality to come to follow meal patterns, and follow calorie counts and carbs. But I’ve learned to play around with the foods based on meal patterns I have to follow.”

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Julio fell love with the idea with becoming a top-notch chef in his late teens, while clerking for his godfather at one of Puerto Rico’s finest hotels, which drew one of Puerto Rico’s top chefs to its restaurant. He decided to discontinue his university education and engineering scholarship to become a chef.

“I always had a vibe in my soul,” says Julio. “But I went to school for engineering with a scholarship. So my dad was a little disappointed when I dropped school to be a chef. He said, ‘You’re going to be a cook?’ I said, ‘No, I’m going to be a chef, and I’m going to make money doing it!’”

Julio earned his Associates Degree from Caribbean Culinary Institute. He also entered Puerto Rico’s Hotel and Tourism Board culinary essay competition and was awarded a scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America in New York. But with a young family and the opportunity to settle in their first home in Puerto Rico, he decided instead to apprentice in fine dining with his mentor, American chef Mark French. French was also the captain of Puerto Rico’s Culinary Olympics team.

“We won gold two years in a row. He’s American and I learned too much about Puerto Rican food with that guy!” says Julio, laughing.

While the kids who eat the food overseen by Julio may never learn of his remarkable story and experience, on a daily basis, they’re experiencing delicious and often new flavors in healthy meals. The district also offers “all of the favorites—chicken patties, pizza, burgers,” tweaked to meet meal pattern requirements, says Julio.

Julio says today’s students are “very savvy” when it comes to food, and he invites their input.

“I like them to criticize,” he says. “I don’t like 10 out of 10, I don’t like 100. I like 95, 90—because there are always ways to improve. I want to have that criticism, especially from the kids.”