Last Updated: March 15, 2024
Our Culinary Community:
Butterface Lunch Lady (also known as Chef Cara Wade) is taking the world by storm and showing that crafting fresh, nutritious, and droolworthy eats for K-12 students is very much possible, all while making the process entertaining and enjoyable for everyone involved.
Her longstanding love for food and cooking for others has fueled a career that’s equal parts adventure, service and innovation.
With 14 years of culinary experience behind her, Chef Cara has taken that passion around the world and back. While she originally hoped to be a restaurant manager, her goals and work evolved as she earned her culinary degree, traveled the world and found her calling back here in schools.
She got her start working as a Pastry Lead while earning her undergraduate degree, found inspiration in the cuisines of Southeast Asia after moving to Thailand to manage a café and
bakery, ran a kitchen training program, served up compassion and great food together in addiction recovery services, and, finally, landed her dream job as a “lunch lady” overseeing all meals for students aged 1-18.
TikTok Sensation Chef Cara:
Chef Cara has gone viral on TikTok for making mouthwatering meals at scale, yet also welcoming followers looking to get inspiration for their own, much smaller kitchens and tables. And her lifetime of wearing many hats (chef, caterer, pastry chef, barista and more) ensures her ideas cover all parts of the day and all parts of the meal.
Curious about her unique name? We were, too. Before landing her dream job in the lunchroom, she had plans for a keto-friendly food truck, and seized the moment to turn this less-than-nice name into a badge of honor. It’s a sign of the tenacious spirit that helps her overcome the challenges in serving school dishes—huge class sizes, various dietary needs and nutrition restrictions, and kids’ hallmark food selectivity.
We’re thrilled to have her as part of our Community of Creatives, and whether you’re serving a crowd of students or just a family, we highly recommend seeking out her mouthwatering content for ideas, insight and her contagious sense of joy for all things food.