Buckden School Meals - Simply the Best!
Food has always been prepared in our school kitchen but until June 2003 Cambridgeshire Catering Services provided the meals and they controlled menu plans, portion size and ingredients.
In May 2003 the governing body approved plans for the school to take over the running of the school kitchens. The impetus to take over the kitchen stemmed from a desire to see healthier food choices, larger portion sizes, greater choice and flexibility and to generally promote the health and wellbeing of children and staff in the school. The aim was provide all this on a limited budget so that school meals remain affordable.
In January 2005 the school employed our cook, Mrs Michelle Bigg. Michelle is an experienced school cook and was very keen to take on the whole catering operation. She quickly brought in new menus and new ideas. More recently she has also catered for our Year 5 residential visit to Castleton in Derbyshire.
The school has a school council where pupils can voice their opinions and through this forum soundings were taken about meals and the children said what they would like to see on the menus. The school also sought opinions from parents about what they expected from school meals.
Our school dinners have been transformed. There several choices every day, including vegetarian options, and jacket potatoes. The food is presented in an attractive and appetising way. The cooks are kind and cheerful and children are not forced to take food that they do not want. If a child would like more than one choice then they may have it and if they are particularly hungry they may have larger portions. Indeed children are encouraged to try tastes of new dishes so they can decide if they like them.
As you would expect the school serves traditional puddings but fruit, biscuits and yoghurts are always offered. Michelle gets informal feedback from the children all the time, she listens to their opinions and asks them what they would like to see on the menu. During the course of the last year the kitchen has run competitions and the childrens 'design a menu' featured in the Hunts Post and prizes awarded in a special assembly.
There is a “free choice” salad bar every day and the children can take whatever they want from the salad bar in addition to their meal. The children now eat their meals off tables with tablecloths and have brightly coloured water jugs and cups. The older children have their meals on plates and bowls (instead of trays) and much prefer this. Many of the adults who work in school also choose to have a school dinner and they eat in the hall with the children. Parents are encouraged to come into school for a meal with their child and many do so, often bringing with them preschool children. The whole atmosphere of school dinners has improved and sharing a meal with your child is a delightful experience. It is very noticeable that the bins in the dinner hall are hardly filled at all (they used to overflow).
Uptake of school dinners has increased from 37% to 67% school dinners have improved beyond recognition and I think the numbers show that. Visitors are always welcome at our school and you can order an adult meal or freshly prepared baguettes (at the school office) before 10 am on the day, please come and try our meals for yourself.
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