Introducing healthy food into school lunches just got a little easier at Hampton Bays Middle School. The reason: the Guest Chef program.

The monthly program, which began in November, features a local guest chef who visits the school to prepare healthy and delicious meals for the students. In December, Chef Charles from Villa Paul dropped by and served up Italian specialties, including pasta fagiole, Caesar salad, sausage and beef lasagna, grilled eggplant parmesan and apple cobbler.

“We’ve got a local celebrity chef making delicious food. It’s a home run,” Hampton Bays District Superintendent Lars Clemensen said while enjoying lunch prepared by Chef Charles. “We’re getting kids to eat healthy. It’s a good day in the school.”

According to Hampton Bays District Business Administrator Larry Luce, the program is all about introducing kids to healthy meals made from scratch, with new items that students may not have had before. “Getting kids to eat eggplant, wow!” he said of Chef Charles’s visit.

All the food for the program is supplied by the school, and the chef volunteers his or her time, according to Mr. Luce. There is a slight additional food expense for the program, which the district pays at no additional cost to the students.