International culinary icon Graham Kerr — best known as the Galloping Gourmet — kicks off the school district’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Lunch” series today.

Kerr joined students for lunch and visited classrooms in the afternoon. A public meet-and-greet with Kerr is scheduled today at 4:30 p.m. at Friday Harbor High School.

“As part of the educational component of the Experience Food Project, we will have an ongoing ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Lunch’ series that will feature guests who command a particular expertise in the area of food and food culture,” Chef Tom French wrote on the school district Web site.

Kerr is a senior adviser to the Experience Food Project. His list of accomplishments include accolades and awards from every major culinary institution in the world.

As an award-winning author, he has written 23 books with more than 14 million copies sold, and his television credits include an Emmy nomination for Most Outstanding Achievement Daytime Programming – USA. He has aired more than 1,700 programs including broadcasts in the Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Many of his programs are still airing on PBS, allfood.com the Food Channel, and other locations throughout the world through syndication.

Kerr and his wife, Treena, have traveled around the world 28 times and their visits to the major spice centers of the world have provided a platform for a new spice line called Eth-Mixes which we will be featuring in our soups.

“But aside from the accolades and celebrity status, it is Graham’s work as a humanitarian and advocate for healthy eating which has brought him back into the public spotlight,” French wrote.

“He has worked with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and his ongoing efforts include projects designed to alleviate hunger and suffering both in the US and in the world. His counsel is frequently sought after by the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, and the Heart Association.

“My relationship with Graham goes back a decade when I asked him to serve on the board of FareStart, a job training program in Seattle for homeless in the food services industry. He is a friend, mentor and fellow traveler on the quest for improved food in schools and a firm advocate for the family table.”