SAN ANTONIO — North East ISD’s enchilada recipe is making a splash overseas after it was served up in a school in Sweden.
“I watched this Youtube clip and I got so hungry and I thought, I have to do that because it looked delicious,” said school Chef Michael Bäckman.
Bäckman is the chef for an elementary school more than five thousand miles and precisely one ocean away – in Flemingsberg, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden. After finding the recipe on a Facebook group called TIPS for School Meals that Rock, he decided he had to make it for his students.
NEISD's enchilada recipe has been popular for years, but when they decided to share it on social media last year, they never expected someone on the other side of the globe to give it a try.
“This type of Mexican-American food, it’s very popular in Sweden,” Bäckman said. “It was a big hit.”
NEISD Executive Director of School Nutrition Sharon Glosson said she was surprised to see how much attention was gained by a recipe they had shared almost a year ago.
“We thought it would be a fun story to do to kick off the Fall of 2019,” Glosson said. “We had no idea how well it would be received in the community and how many people outside of Northeast ISD would love to get the Cheese Enchilada recipe from San Antonio Schools.”
After seeing how popular the enchiladas were with his students, Bäckman has one request for NEISD.
“More recipes out on Youtube and the TIPS for School meals that Rock,” Bäckman said. “And maybe I will make some kind of recipe from here when we make it, so they can try it in their kitchen.”
Both Bäckman and Glosson agree on the power of food to bring people together, even from half a world away.
“It is one thing that people may be able to agree on when so many things are separating us.” Glosson said.
“Everyone eats, everyone enjoys. Food is a good universal language,” Bäckman said.