School Food Charity Expanding to the South West
A school food charity that aims to get kids eating a varied diet - including dishes like kale crumble, ‘naked’ fish and sauces packed with veg - is expanding to the South West.
Chefs in Schools - which is backed by the great and good of the culinary world - including Prue Leith, Thomasina Miers and Yotam Ottolenghi - wants schools, chefs and people who are passionate about kids’ food to sign up to a school food revolution in Cornwall and the surrounding area.
The charity works to improve health and attainment of children by improving school food and food education. They train school kitchen teams to work in a restaurant brigade system, serving up exciting and interesting breads, sauces and nutritious, veg-heavy cakes and snacks all made from scratch.
In just over three years, the charity has worked hands-on in just under 60 schools, reaching over 23,000 children each school day.
Nicole Pisani, Executive Chef and co-founder at Chefs in Schools, said: “Expanding into the South West is an exciting opportunity for us - we would love to hear from schools, suppliers and organisations who, like us, believe school food is more than just a meal - it’s an opportunity to fuel the future and to instil a life-long love of good food.
“Our mission is for all school kitchen teams to receive training that empowers the staff to cook all food from scratch. While it can be challenging, the effort is returned many times over - the entire school community will see the benefits.”
Chefs in Schools targets areas where pupils rely on free school meals and also in schools struggling to meet the school food standards. After initial meetings, an audit is carried out and a bespoke training package is developed. The charity offers ongoing support to the school.
Research shows if school food is improved, children’s wellbeing, health and attainment also increases, while obesity rates fall. Research also highlights that hungry kids don’t learn. Getting school food right is vital.
Naomi Duncan, Chief Executive of Chefs in Schools, said: “We’ve proved it is possible to serve school food that is exciting, tasty and nutritious - but also affordable. Job satisfaction increases, the school food culture improves and children get the food they need to learn.”
It costs the charity around £15 per pupil to begin transforming the food in a new school. They rely on donations to do their work. The expansion comes as the charity releases its first cookbook - Feed Your Family - which is a celebration of school kitchen teams and highlights the incredible dishes being served up to pupils.
It includes feasting plates, curries, street food - all served in schools. Dishes like ‘naked fish’ - which is hake, baked and served with a tomato sauce, plus ‘orange pasta’ – a carrot and butternut sauce packed with nutrients. Both named as such because they made children laugh and therefore more likely to try the dishes.
Each sale of the Feed Your Family enables Chefs in Schools to reach more children.
For more information about Chefs in Schools, visit their website: www.chefsinschools.org.uk or to see the food - follow them on instagram @chefsinschools_uk
