Monday 18th July 2011

Award-winning school chefs are celebrating after scooping a national prize for the quality of their food and service.


DINNER WINNERS: (from left) catering assistants Karen Cooper, Joanne Smith, catering supervisor Jeanette Kirk and assistant cook Edith Smith with Councillor Mike Longden, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education.

Caterers at The Meadows Community School, Old Whittington, beat teams from across the country to be crowned Secondary School Catering Team of the Year.

Derbyshire County Council's catering service nominated the school for the Local Authority Catering Association (LACA) awards.

The awards recognise caterers from local authorities, special school catering, civic catering, police and fire service catering.

They received the honour for their high standards and dedication to providing meals suitable for the 593 students, who range from 11 to 16 years.

Councillor Mike Longden, Derbyshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Education, presented them with their award at a ceremony hosted at the school on Wednesday, 13th July.

He said: "I'm delighted the team has won this national recognition for their commitment to providing high quality meals.

"Eating nutritious and tasty meals helps pupils get the most out of their school day. I'd like to congratulate everyone involved on winning this very well-earned award."

The team has launched a number of initiatives which helped them succeed. These include:

• A red, amber, green colour coding system to show students how healthy the food is
  
  
• Opportunities for student evaluators to sample food, give feedback and put forward ideas
  
  
• A breakfast club, which is now catering for 40/50 students
  
  
• Supporting the school’s recycling work by composting fruit and vegetable peelings
  
  
• A taste-before-you-buy policy so students can see if they like something prior to purchase
  
  
• Providing work experience for students.

Catering supervisor Jeanette Kirk said: "We're really proud and pleased to have won when we were competing against such excellent teams.

"We put every effort into making our meals and service the best they can be so this award is lovely as it shows we're doing a good job."

Headteacher Lynn Asquith said: "We're thrilled for the team because they deserve this success. They play an active part in school life and this is a great achievement for them and the school as a whole."

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