Masuk Free Press

Chicken tenders are showing up everywhere these days. Chili’s chicken crispers, Dairy Queen chicken strips, Raising Cane’s tenders and of course, Masuk’s very own fry station.

The fry station at Masuk sells mozzarella sticks, chicken nuggets and the famous chicken tenders. “We have a total of 441 meals that we did [on October 29th]. Of which, 246 come from the fry station.” said Whitsons’ Tim Quartuccio, the food service director of the kitchens at Monroe Public Schools. “I can’t pick and choose the difference of the meal [chicken tenders] itself, but what I can tell you is that in our case, there are 37 pieces per bag, which is 74 pieces per case. Each student gets four pieces, so that comes out to nineteen orders per case, which goes on to two sheet trays. My cook, Jay, usually goes through about 16 trays of chicken.”

Quartuccio further explains how the math adds up.“So, if we do simple math, there’s nineteen orders in a case, which is two bags. If you divide that by the sixteen trays, that’s eight cases. Multiply eight times nineteen orders, we’re somewhere in 160 orders of chicken tenders.” 

Quartuccio further explained how many cases of chicken tenders he orders in a week. “I order about 40 cases a week. Some weeks are more, some are less, but I average between 35 and 40 cases every week.” Quartuccio added.  

Chicken tenders, while an enjoyable food option, can get stale. One student shared his opinion on chicken tenders. “Chicken tenders, I mean, come on, it’s chicken tenders,” said Masuk sophomore Derek Gordon. “They’re always very versatile.” Gordon explained how chicken tenders are a worthwhile option.

The chicken nugget is a food item often compared to chicken tenders. “I’d say that’s quite disrespectful to the chicken tender, to be honest. I might have to side with the chicken nuggets,” Gordon said. “I mean, chicken tenders are a classic finger food, and to try to elevate them above any other form of chicken is foolish.” 

Gordon also shared a review of Masuk’s chicken tenders served in the cafeteria, which he believes changed at some point last year.“In my personal opinion, as an avid chicken enjoyer myself, both inside and outside of school. I could confidently say that the old school chicken tenders were superior to the new ones. They tasted better, and they looked better.” 

Gordon shared this as other students also believe the chicken tenders served in the cafeteria were changed at some point last year. “There is a quality difference in the chicken tenders between this year and last year,” said Masuk sophomore Benjamin Solano. “I used to really enjoy the chicken tenders. They seemed more natural, and they had varying shapes instead of being the exact same.” 

 “It’s not a very good option.” Solano added in response to the quality change of the chicken tenders. “If you want to eat chicken tenders, you are going to eat them, but they have better chicken options. They even have better options overall. There is always a Mexican option, I’m starting to go back to that.” Solano shared. 

The reason for the change for the chicken tenders may come from Monroe Public Schools food service director Quartuccio. “The chef and I, we try to come up with different ideas, different food items, different things that students can embrace, because the fry station every day is a lot of saturated fat. Saturated fat is not good for you. As hard as we try to deter them [students] from taking tenders, they always come back,” Quartuccio said. 

When students are not at school, or feel disappointed with the Masuk’s chicken tenders offered in the cafeteria, there are numerous options. A popular chicken tender chain, Raising Cane’s, has opened a new location in Milford, Connecticut on October 2nd, 2025. “I’ve wanted to go,” Solano shared. “I almost got to go, then my parents took a look at the prices and said no.” 

“I’d say we are in a craze,” Solano said. “I mean, now we have Dave’s Hot Chicken, and they specialize in only chicken tenders. Even McDonalds is entering the chicken tender game. Wendy’s is too.” 

Other restaurants that introduced chicken tenders recently include Dairy Queen, Taco Bell, and Chili’s. The chicken tender craze is similar to the chicken sandwich craze started by Popeye’s in 2019.

Overall, chicken tenders are a popular choice for students. While the chicken tenders in the school are disappointing for some students, they are still the most popular food item available. When students are not at school, the many restaurants that serve chicken tenders are popular. The chicken tender craze is real in Masuk High School.