Ringing the changes
This has been an incredible journey of hard work and belief not just by me but all of the staff at St Luke’s .A more dedicated group of dinner ladies and men than you could ever hope to gather together in one place.
All the schools encountering problems I believe is of their own making. We started to ring the changes slowly; first by removing fizzy drinks sweets cakes and all the other garbage that was formally sold at the mid morning break. We replaced them with homemade baguettes fruit juice legal milk shakes yogurts and fruit; although the yogurt and fruit never really took off we will persevere and try putting nicer fruit in pots at some stage. Now the winter months are here we are trying grilled bacon and tomato baguettes as a hot option also serving tea at break.
Lunch was the usual assortment of pre made open packet and cook items. The first of the changes, more emphasis was placed on freshly cooked choices, they were made on site using real ingredients constantly changing choices and varying the layout of the counter, pushing the pre made snack items further and further down the counter
We did not manage all of this in a space of weeks it took months the children still had all the junk they recognised but it was dwindling before their very eyes.
To start with it wasn’t laziness or lack of commitment but a lack of time and training and staffing levels.
As the kitchen staff became more confident in what they were doing the jobs be came less of a chore, and then the changes really started to creep in. First went the greasy carpet burgers and in came homemade beef burgers with no additives just lean beef patties served in a bun with fresh salad it took a while for the numbers to get back up but the changes were there. We knocked back the choices so that there was only one snack item per day, this done and the staff getting used to making burgers, our sights were firmly set on those tasteless gooey slabs of bread ketchup and cheese (better known as pizzas) we made the bases to begin with from bags of bread and roll dough. It is a time consuming task compared to opening boxes but the toppings could hide a multitude of fresh vegetables .Time was still a major factor in what we were doing stress levels rose and it nearly broke us.
But don’t worry the calibre of the staff shone through.
Now we had the topping sorted it was time to work on the bases gone was the packet mix and in came our own made with a fifty fifty mix of whole meal and plain flour bases and no one noticed!!!!!
By now the changes were starting to speed up it was not really getting any easier but confidence levels and kitchen skills were being accumulated.
We were still serving sausage rolls and turkey burgers but infrequently and then mainly due to time restraints and not lack of dedication by the staff.
So then it was the turn of the greasy soggy sausage roll. Now I know what you are all thinking no they are not healthy, but they are now home made and are not full of additives and we only have them once in a three week menu cycle.
We did not have the equipment to replace the dreaded turkey burger so we removed them from the menu completely we still need the equipment but manage to keep up the changes.
Our figures did drop off, but not as much as the press are reporting. This year the number of children entitled to free school meals has dropped but on investigation in an old diary we are serving more kids entitled to free school meals at the same point in the year than the previous caterer by a significant amount.
Now this whole process has taken eighteen months and we are still evolving as a business.
Then we get to the last pre made item on our list this one is a particular favourite of mine the only day of the week we serve chips is on a Friday (our busiest day of the week I wonder why)the fish we used were the old battered cod portions to begin with they were acceptable but the fish inside appeared grey so pride and finding a supplier who had real fish at an acceptable price meant that we could now say everything is now prepared and cooked fresh on sight from burgers to pizza even a moist piece of cod in a crispy batter to a herb crust topped tender piece of cod for a healthier option.
This has not been an easy period of catering but it has been an experience never to be repeated, now we have achieved all of this we do not intend to stop but carry on with seasonal menu changes, and improving the salad bar .As a school caterer I have to thank the support of the headmistress and board of governors along with the bursar and all of the hard working staff in the kitchen . So as Christmas approaches I would like to say well done to Teri Street, Trisha Seale, Linda Abrams and finally Sam Weller without whom the bbc radio 4 food and farming award for best dinner lady/man would never have come to St Luke’s . The award is not just for me but for all of the dedicated team that work in the kitchen so a big thank you once again to them.
Part 2 (bit like a Pink Floyd album)
White label
When you hear the list of excuses to stop serving decent meals it brings a wry smile to your face (little Johnny does not come to school because he doesn’t like the food now)
(Timmy truants because the new food is awful).Johnny and Timmy (not their real names) are two of the saddest stories I’ve heard this year bless them! Excuse me I must wipe away a tear. Their tutor approached the kitchen for some help. Not exactly bending over backwards as the solution was quite simple we found what would encourage them back to St Luke’s in the eating department anyway. Their list of likes was very long and defiantly not going back on the menu but there was scope that a few items we could achieve without compromising our standards or be accused of favouritism. Basically they wanted specifically made bespoke baguettes the fillings did not contravene our own standards and could be produced at the same time as all the others we prepare for break time. This we did yippee two more converts to the school dinner system. Don’t applaude too loudly just yet over the period of a whole term little Johnny came for his lunch four times. And little Timmy was never seen in the school canteen again (I do hope he is ok)
So far from being the monsters some would have you believe the staff in the kitchen will listen to reasonable requests. I have heard tell of letters from concerned parents asking for permission for their children to be allowed off site at lunch time to go to the chip shop. Personally I don’t have a problem with this but I would ask that with all the different choices on the counter every day WHY? Just in case you wonder what exactly does go on the menu
DIALY ITEMS
Filled jacket potatoes
Assorted salads that include Cole slaw, pasta salads, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, potato salad, rice salads, beetroot, pickled onions, celery, waldof salad
Fresh fruit
Fresh fruit salads
Low fat yogurts 8 flavours (with no bits as kids can be funny like that)
Jellies (made with vegetarian jelly crystals)
Mousse
The hot counter
Has two hot choices one usually served with rice or pasta the other a roast joint, stew or hot pot. All of our meat comes from a local butcher we do not use any processed meat food products. A vegetarian option not just cheesy pasta but choices including assorted beans and lentils (we did try quorn a couple of times but it was not popular) and a snack item the snacks as with everything else are made from fresh ingredients burgers, pizza, sausage roll and our fresh Cumberland sausages from the butcher cook plump and firm not leaving a pint of fat in the dish when cooking all prepared and cooked on the premises
Please be aware that children can choose from the salad bar instead of the choice of vegetables on the hot counter the choice is theirs. The fact is we are not food fascists not even the culinary constabulary. We can only encourage them to make a choice. After all we don’t want to create another 300 vegetarians we do however want to create a well balanced choice for all at St Luke’s we reduce salt and the use of fat in cooking the operative word being reduce we have not taken it away completely but we do use healthier olive oil where possible and none when it is practical All of this is not for fun it’s because we care. We cannot tell you not to eat at fast food outlets but think about how often you do and when you do try to pick the healthier options nobody is telling you what to do just trying to provide you with the information to make an informed choice because at the end of the day it is your choice
Hot sweet of the day with custard
The hot sweets range from
Jam sponge
Spotted dick (vegetarian suet)
Apple crumble
Apple turnovers
Choc sponge (not healthy but comforting)
And many other choices
I do hope that this will give all who read it an insight into what the blue café at St Luke’s is all about we have spent a lot of trial and error to try and get this right. We have not finished yet; this has never been about taking things off your menu but to replace them with things that are better made with ingredients you can recognise without a periodic table or a chemistry degree. We are currently putting together the art work for this album cover (food photos) and will publish at a later date.
Trigger