food

Three years, three companies: WIS’s tumultuous relationship with food providers

By SOFIA VAKIS, 2025

An email announcing a new food provider would replace Brock entered WIS students’ inboxes before winter break. The company, CulinArt, promised “innovative dining solutions to help students eat and live well.”

A couple of months into CulinArt’s time at WIS, students and staff have adjusted to the changes the company brought with it, but one question remains: Why has WIS switched food providers so frequently in the past few years?

Like Goldilocks, WIS is searching for a food provider that is “just right.” The story starts in 2018, when WIS underwent a thorough proposal process as part of a routine check-in. Sodexo had worked with WIS since 2007, so a trial was long overdue.

Students taste-tested the food offered by different food providers and voted on which they liked the most. Amongst these were Brock, a company called Flick and Sodexo.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Bethany Neumann oversaw the process since choosing, managing and organizing WIS’s food services falls under her jurisdiction. “[This process] helps ensure that your vendors are still providing the services that you really want at the school,” Neumann said. “It also helps you ensure that the fees that they’re charging are competitive.” Brock ultimately replaced Sodexo, but its time at WIS would be brief.

Neumann explained that WIS was deciding between Brock and Flick during the original search process in 2018. CulinArt and Flick are both a part of a larger company called Compass. When WIS decided it was time to switch food providers again, instead of hosting a whole new group of caterers, they used the research and surveys previously conducted and immediately reached out to CulinArt, according to Neumann.

Neumann highlighted the benefits of CulinArt over Brock. Even though CulinArt and Brock are both small businesses, one of CulinArt’s advantages is that Compass, a bigger company with more power, backs them up. “[By] having a big company backing up CulinArt… they can help with things like purchasing and [providing] resources,” Neumann said.

CulinArt describes itself as “a foodfirst company with a strong focus on health and wellness,” and seemed like the perfect match for WIS because the school was hoping “to increase the variety of the food offerings, provide more selection in the cafe and improve the delivery process at the Primary School,” according to Neumann.

Unlike other food providers that offer prearranged and set programs, CulinArt tailors their food services to best accommodate each individual institution. Neumann emphasized CulinArt’s flexibility as an especially significant factor in picking it for WIS, since most all-inclusive deals do not work due to the limited size and unique shape of the Tregaron and Primary School food facilities.

This flexibility is not only visible in the way they adjust to a smaller space, but also in the recipes they bring. Across grade levels, students agreed that the change in food providers came with both benefits and disadvantages.

“I think it looks more edible, and [that compared to Brock] when you bite into it you don’t think you’re going to die,” freshman Zoya Zwart said. She added that CulinArt is not wasteful and serves adequate portion sizes.

Her comment was especially meaningful given that complaints about Brock throughout its time at WIS surrounded the size of their portions and wastefulness of their packaging, proving that CulinArt made valuable improvements to the school’s lunch program. In fact, complaints about meager lunch portions all but disappeared upon returning from winter break.

CulinArt is also living up to its promise to encourage healthy eating. “You can see that it is actually organic and real products and not something that is chemicals,” seventh grader Finn Franusic Dauphin said.

In the IB café, opinions about the changes are also overwhelmingly positive as CulinArt provided more variety. “Now, there’s a lot of new stuff like the danishes [and] the apple muffins,” junior Alessandro Ricci said. Other new café options include English muffins and packaged snacks, which rising juniors can look forward to enjoying.

In spite of the positive feedback CulinArt has received, it’s clear they still have things to learn as they adjust to WIS. Freshman Jennifer Firschein enthusiastically agreed that the change was overall better, however, she also added that, “[Brock] used to have a better paying system… [the long lines are] a good way to get sick [from COVID].”

As CulinArt’s time at WIS continues, it will be important to take note of whether their methods and systems change to meet the students’ and faculty’s changing demands. If they do, then maybe, just maybe, it will seem that WIS has found their Goldilocks zone.

sports

9 Recreating “Paulie Cicero” from Cracked Eggery

By SOFIA VAKIS, 2025

After opening in what some refer to as Connecticut Avenue’s “unlucky storefront,” WIS students have practically taken over Cracked Eggery. This recipe is for those fans who want to recreate one of Cracked’s signature dishes, or for those who have never tried it but want to do so from the comfort of their homes.

The Paulie Cicero is a delicious sandwich. The saltiness of the prosciutto and parmesan cheese contrasts with the sweetness the honey provides, and the fried egg adds the finishing touch and signature Cracked Eggery flavor. Time: 15 minutes Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients:

1 bun of challah (alternatively a hamburger bun) 1 tsp butter or a vegetable oil 1 egg 2 slices prosciutto 1/3 cup ricotta cheese Handful of arugula 1 tbsp parmesan cheese 1/2 tbsp honey 1 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes

Procedure:

1. Heat a pan with butter or oil. 2. Toast challah bun for 3 minutes . 3. Remove from the pan and fry egg to preference (a slightly sunny side-up is perfect for the sandwich!). 4. Begin constructing the sandwich. To start, spread honey on the bottom bun. 5. Sprinkle parmesan and ricotta cheese. 6. Layer sun-dried tomatoes on top. 7. Place prosciutto and fried egg on top and finish by putting the arugula to top it all off.

9/10 journalism Freshman plays for D.C. United

By LEO SARZI, 2025

Nervously waiting at home, freshman Ethan Talapatra, received an email regarding his tryout for the pre-professional team, D.C. United Academy. The academy is the youth and development program that feeds Washington’s Major League Soccer (MLS) club, D.C. United.

It’s Talapatra’s dream to pursue professional soccer and making this pre-professional team is a huge step in that direction. “My goal is to make it pro someday, and I feel like I am on track to do so,” he said.

The stakes at the academy are unlike those at any other team, according to MLS Next. One of the academy’s main goals is to create a professional environment of competitiveness, which increases the pressure on players.

After multiple games with National Scouts watching during the 2020 fall season and tryouts, Talapatra plays on the team as a goalkeeper, where he has a chance to take his game to the next level and earn a professional team contract in the future.

Talapatra was ready to take a step forward to pursue professional soccer. “It was just a surreal push to get in. Now I need to take advantage of this opportunity,” Talapatra said.

Though the academy’s main goal is to produce players that will be able to play professionally, players entering academies statistically have less than 0.5% of making a living from the game, according to Sky News. MLS academies are built to keep extreme pressure on the players.

“The club tries to make the players feel uncomfortable, consequently putting in the maximum effort,” D.C. United’s Under 15 Coach Matt Arrington said.

Talapatra played for Bethesda’s Under 14 MLS Next Academy Team last year. MLS Next Academy Clubs are associated with several professional teams, either in North America or in Europe. The academies offer a pipeline of talent to the professional club.

Talapatra was scouted multiple times during his Bethesda journey. He was later identified as a goalkeeper in the area by a national scout.

He was called back for three tryouts during winter 2020. He described the tryout process like “a pyramid.” “If they identified you as the better player during the tryout, you would have been invited to the next tryout,” he said. “If not, you would not be invited back.”

He was then recruited during the summer and started training with the team in August. However, once the players are offered a spot on the team, it’s not guaranteed. “Every day at the club is a battle, it’s a competition for your starting spot,” Talapatra said.

Training at the academy is very intense. It consists of one and half-hours of a lot of technical work, core, flexibility, crosses from the fullbacks, side volleys and finishing. The intensity of the training pushes the individual to become a better overall player. “All day we look forward to training, because training is just something special,” Talapatra said.

Ultimately, respect between teammates is one of the academy’s primary goals. Talapatra tries to be a captain on and off the pitch, leading his way to becoming a professional player.

“On the pitch, we all compete for our spots,” Talapatra said. “Off the pitch, we are gentlemen.”

Checkmate: WIS seniors can’t escape chess

By PHILIP HE, 2022

Walking into the Senior Lounge (Slounge), a group of seniors crowd around a broken chessboard, watching closely as a white pawn is pushed forward to start another game.

Over the past two years, new outlets for stress have become increasingly prominent at WIS because of COVID-19. One activity has continued to dominate the school, especially among the seniors.

The sudden surge of chess popularity was partly due to the spare time students had during the pandemic. Additionally, seniors Kevin Galdamez and Mila Martin stocked the Slounge with chess sets, which has provided students with easy access to the game.

While more experienced chess players such as senior Aurel Ersek were quick to pick up the game, this increased accessibility to chess boards has also caused students who have never played chess before to try it out.

“I started playing the second half of junior year,” senior Lucas Bazoberry said. “Some people played chess before and introduced it to me.”

In addition to the increased accessibility, Bazoberry points to the competitive nature of WIS students that pushed chess into such a prominent choice in senior’s free time.

“We are all somewhat competitive and

like challenges,” Bazoberry said. “[Chess] is just intriguing and we all want to test our skills against each other.” Senior Rufus Leeth shares a similar opinion, as he wants to prove his skills amongst his peers. “I was deemed really bad at chess, especially by [Bazoberry] and Quinn [Conway] and a few other people,” he said. “Then there was this one Friday when I had a free with and played [Bazoberry] and ““When we play, we talk [it] over and have fun. We make memories and connections.” [Conway] in succession. I beat both of them.” This competitive spirit is not hard to find with students often challenging each other to games. AUREL ERSEK “Chess is a difficult game to understand,” Leeth said. “So if you can play chess really well and you win, it makes you feel good.” However, Ersek believes that there is a more important reason as to why chess became so popular. “I think the reason people enjoy chess is because it’s about knowing your opponent,” Ersek said. “When we play, we talk [it] over and have fun. We make memories and connections.” Despite chess being a two player game, seniors crowd around a chessboard during lunch. People discuss different chess moves, compliment each other or jokingly criticize each other. “Sometimes we talk about the game. Sometimes we talk about other things,” Ersek said. “It is about connecting with other people while playing chess.”