Every school cafeteria is different. Some serve cold, microwavable pizzas, others give out juice boxes and a side of string beans, while a few prepare fresh-made sushi rolls and roasted chicken breasts. Our cafeteria is one of the rare few.

Instead of the standard soggy pizza-drink-fruit-cookie combo meal, for which many students across Chicago wait in line, we wait in line–if we ever have to wait at all–for fresh-made burritos and pastas, grilled cheese and tomato soup, cookies and brownies made from scratch, a salad and smoothie bar, a hot sandwich station, and so much more.

With meals like those, the amount of work it takes is no surprise. Everyone knows Chef Zac Maness–pizza-making, dough-flipping, presentation-giving Zac Maness–but there are so many people whose hard work goes into the food, many of whom are not even known by name.

The delicious, ever-changing smoothies you grab in the morning? Michael Rosales makes those. The warm, homemade cookies and brownies? Sue Griggs bakes more than 75 of them from scratch every day. The golden scrambled eggs and crispy bacon? That’s thanks to Parker-veteran Caesar Merkson, and the majority of the food dishes–pasta, chicken–come through the hands of Doel Enrique, the sous chef.

Enrique, with 25 years of experience as a chef under his belt, has worked at Parker for almost seven months now.  His typical nine-hour day is filled with flipping patties, marinating chicken, and more. “My main goal is to make sure every meal is homemade and fresh,” Enrique said. “Pleasing everyone is important, and we will make sure everyone is covered and healthy.”

Enrique works at Blue Plate Catering as an assistant chef on the weekends, and though he had never before thought about working for a school system, “it is very interesting to show that cooking can be done in any place,” he said.  “When cooking for people you care about, everything will come out well.”

As Enrique moves around the kitchen, grilling vegetables and beef patties, he listens to music, smiles and dances. He said, “I help to create a happy atmosphere that shows in the food.”

While Enrique grills and sautees, Griggs rolls out pounds and pounds of dough, preps muffins, and scoops cookies. And those aren’t just ordinary, pre-made cookie dough cookies.

“The dough is made from scratch,” she said. “Nothing comes frozen–it’s all thrown together and mixed.”

Griggs starts making the delicious baked goods at 6:00 AM and stays in the kitchen until 2:30. Her time is spent mixing the 17 pounds of flour, 48 eggs, and 15 pounds of sugar that make up the cookie dough. Just as Enrique does, Griggs tries to hit all of the dietary guidelines. “We have dairy-free muffins and egg-free cookies and coffee cakes,” she said. “And I’ve been trying a vegan brownie.”

Parker students should see Griggs’ new creations line the shelves soon, along with the 120 bags of trail mix she makes, the 60 dessert cups that food preparer Melanie Curtis creates, and the 30 fruity smoothies that Rosales blends each day.

Across the kitchen, Merkson is chopping, mixing, tossing, mixing, and cracking for the next meal. He starts at 5:10 AM–how else would he be able to prepare the scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes we eat for breakfast? When he finishes with breakfast, he’s busy prepping for the rest of the day, using the space the new cafeteria has opened up to make Parker’s favorite meals.

According to Merkson, this new space allows for modern appliances, more people, and it makes the meals much easier to cook, including the pizza. It’s no wonder that the pizza is Merkson’s favorite meal–a lot goes into making it.

“We start the pizza at 8:00 in the morning, but it’s really a three-day process,” Merkson said. “The dough is rolled, and then there’s Zac on one end stretching it. Each pizza is made one at a time, and it starts from tossing the dough. When the toppings are on, I’ll cook it partly through and then later I’ll cook them fully. “

Even as the cafeteria staff diligently works to produce the food, their main priority is the students. “We want to get to know the students,” Rosales said. “Just say hi.”

Enrique agrees. “I like to be part of the system,” he said. “If someone has something to comment, they are welcome to come and talk to us.”

With the emphasis on hitting all the dietary guidelines and restrictions, making sure no one is waiting in line too long for food, receiving feedback, and simply making delectable food, the cafeteria staff is hard at work every day.

Getting to school before the sun rises, prepping an entire taco bar, and making more than 40 sandwiches each day is no easy feat.