The cafeteria staff at Plainfield East has had a lasting impact on students who come to eat breakfast and lunch during the day. The kitchen works hard behind the scenes in order to make East’s dining experience just that much better.
Jean Catenazzo is just one of the many staff members that contribute to the overall good feeling in the lunchroom. She is the longest tenured employee on staff currently.
Catenazzo starts the day at 6:30am, helping with any last minute needs before breakfast starts at 6:40am. Despite the early nature of the job, she’s committed to bringing a positive attitude that students have come to know and love everyday.
“I’ve got kids of my own, I try to treat everybody the way I’d hope people would treat my kids,” said Catenazzo.
After breakfast, around 8am, the kitchen cleans, counts, and prepares for the period of the day everyone looks forward to: lunch.
Despite the short time that students are in line to get their food, the staff are able to get to know many of the regular lunch-goers. To many, going through the lunchroom line is more than just ordering their food and punching in their student ID number.
“One thing I learned from this job: be teachable. We can’t reach our full potential whether as an employee, athlete, or student if we are unwilling to listen or even consider the possibility that someone else may know a better way of doing things. No one is right 100% of the time. We grow and develop by being open-minded and learning from our mistakes,” said Catenazzo.
After everyone has received their lunch for the day, it’s once again time to count up the registers, count all of the fruits and vegetables, and clean up. A lot more goes into the Plainfield East kitchen’s daily operations than the average student would think twice about.
“There’s actually a lot of behind the scenes stuff that’s involved,” said Catenazzo, “It’s a little more than the people realize”
Not only is there mental work to do, but there is physical work to be done as well.
“We haul around a lot of heavy boxes of produce and things, and when I say we count everything, we count everything,” said Catenazzo.
A crucial part of making the whole kitchen work is the bond held by the staff and the sense of togetherness. Serving lunch to a student body of almost 2,000 is a task that can only be completed with unity.
“We have a really good crew, everybody works really hard, and if you need help with anything, there’s always somebody right there who’s got your back and will help you out,” said Catenazzo.
The Plainfield East Cafeteria is one of the little things in life that can make a large difference in someone’s day. Placing an emphasis on kindness and friendliness is something under appreciated yet completely essential in today’s world.
There is one more thing that the entirety of the kitchen would like students to remember.
“Make sure to take your fruits and veggies,” said Cantenazzo.
