After an extensive search, Dwight-Englewood Community is delighted to welcome our new food service provider, Cater To You, and more importantly the CTY Head of Operations for Dwight-Englewood, Alex Stanko. Alex knows independent schools well having graduated from Princeton Day School. From there his story takes him all over the world before landing back in New Jersey. After a semester studying languages and playing soccer in Siberia, Alex took a semester off from college and found himself working at the Carversville General Store in Carversville, Pennsylvania. Here he developed a love for all things culinary as well as for the fast-paced, sensory rich environment of professional kitchens. He enrolled in the French Culinary Institute, and since graduating has been involved in all aspects of running kitchens and restaurants. Alex apprenticed at the renowned wd~50, and later helped launch global operations for the only barbecue restaurant to receive two stars from the New York Times, Mighty Quinns. Along the way he worked in the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, farms in the northeast United States and even a fly fishing lodge in Chile – in all of these places he came to see the beauty and importance of cooking with locally sourced, high quality ingredients.
While Alex will be overseeing operations for all three divisions, you will breathe a sigh of relief knowing our beloved Chef Ricardo remains a vital part of the team and is just as involved and committed to the care and feeding of our Lower School students as always. We welcome Alex and thank them both – and of course their entire, hardworking team – for sharing their love of cooking and food, and for taking such good care of us.