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Hundreds of Fairfax County Public Schools students sampled more than two dozen possible cafeteria additions at the district’s second annual Student Food Show on Thursday, Feb. 27.

Elementary, middle and high school students gathered at the Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles in Chantilly to taste the dishes and rate them on iPads. Their feedback will help determine which options could reach breakfast and lunch menus across FCPS’s 199 schools next year.

Among the new offerings was “Fairfax Sauce,” a secret condiment created exclusively for FCPS cafeterias. Students also tried breakfast tacos with veggie sausage, a Thai chili bowl, Hawaiian hot honey beef sliders and pumpkin pie applesauce.

Other concepts included chicken katsu, teriyaki chicken fried rice, a Hawaiian chicken wrap, peach overnight oats, a turkey Cubano, a Monte Cristo, a chicken egg roll bowl, chicken masala pizza, pasta and rice dishes.

Shaun Sawko, FCPS executive director of Food and Nutrition Services, said the show allows the school system to keep pace with students’ changing preferences while offering food that reflects the district’s diversity.

“We’re constantly engaging our students so that we can change with them as they change,” Sawko said, noting that foods popular several years ago may no longer match current tastes.

Students completed surveys after sampling each dish. FCPS uses those responses to adjust recipes and assess whether cafeteria teams can prepare them across the school system.

Elementary students Fabiana and Rosie counted taco pizza and sliders among their favorites. One gave the event an overall score of 8.5 out of 10 but said she did not like the masala dish. Rosie suggested dialing back the seasoning in some recipes.

“Some dishes have a lot of spice,” she said. “Not too spicy, but just a lot of it.”

The event featured concepts from food manufacturers as well as recipes created by FCPS cafeteria employees and an in-house executive chef. The staff-developed selections included Fairfax Sauce and homemade macaroni and cheese.

FCPS held its first food show in November 2023, when more than 200 students reviewed possible breakfast and lunch items. Some of the most popular dishes later appeared on school menus.

This year’s event moved from November to February, shortening the time students must wait to see successful recipes introduced during the following school year.

Sawko said FCPS looks for patterns in survey responses, including whether dishes are too spicy or not spicy enough, and modifies recipes accordingly.

The district serves more than 180,000 students. Sawko said its menus should reflect the multicultural population found throughout Fairfax County.

“We’re such a diverse county,” he said. “It’s important for us to showcase that diversity within our food population as well.”