A Nebraska school cook lost his job after serving students chili earlier this month that contained an unusual ingredient—kangaroo meat.

Kevin Frei, the head chef for a junior and senior high school in Potter, apparently served students the concoction without the pupil’s knowledge on October 10 for lunch, News Channel Nebraska reported.

Frei argued with the school’s superintendent that the exotic meat was used in the batch of chili, which also contained beef, “because of its nutritional value as a very lean meat,” according to a letter sent out to parents.

“If a family wants to eat exotic foods, they can do so on their own time—not at school,” Potter-Dix Schools Superintendent Mike Williams wrote in the letter.

“If we were to have food or ingredients that are out of the ordinary, they should be listed on the menu so that students and families are aware of what they would be being served. We will no way be serving food of the nature again. Period.”

The superintendent also explained that he didn’t believe the meat to be “unhealthy or dangerous,” and further stated that “it has to meet USDA standards in order for companies to sell it.” He then apologized for the “anxiety and any harm” the lunch may have caused for those affected.

According to the Omaha World-Herald, the meat was supplied through Sysco, a food distribution company.

Williams said Thursday that the chef was no longer employed with the district, according to the newspaper.

[Feature Photo: Pixabay]