Cook like Jamie Oliver in your school cafeteria
Get you school cafeteria up to scratch and cook like a professional chef by leasing the best quality equipment.
Modernising your school’s cafeteria equipment will give you the tools you need to rustle up healthy school dinners just like Jamie Oliver, and save on expensive energy costs.
Read on for an introduction to national school catering requirements and how you can use professional catering equipment to meet them.
What can we learn about school catering from Jamie Oliver?
Jamie Oliver’s war against childhood obesity began in 2005 with his seminal series, ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’.
The TV chef was shocked by the catering arrangements at Kidbrooke School — a relatively standard comprehensive in the Borough of Greenwich, London.
Faced with a school cafeteria that only served junk food — mainly processed meat and fried potatoes — Jamie Oliver encouraged and supported them in adopting healthier catering methods.
To achieve this, Jamie had to overcome a whole host of challenges, including:
- A daily school dinner budget equivalent to 37p per pupil
- Resistance from students accustomed to junk food
- Difficulty training school catering staff to use new equipment and healthier ingredients
What changes are schools being encouraged to make?
After initial resistance, Jamie Oliver’s initiative grew into the nationwide ‘Feed Me Better’ campaign, and has helped to inform government policy since 2006.
A new and complex set of nutritional standards was phased in from September 2008 – September 2009. Here are some of the key guidelines:
Foods to be made available:
| Foodstuff: | Frequency: |
| Fruit and vegetables | Two+ portions per day, including salad and/or vegetables |
| Oily fish | Every three weeks (minimum) |
| Fresh bread | Daily |
Foodstuffs and techniques to be restricted:
| Foodstuff: | Frequency: |
| Processed meats | ‘Occasional’ use only (for products that meet certain nutritional criteria) |
| Deep-fried foods | Two servings per week (maximum) |
These new requirements, coupled with increasingly limited school food budgets, have forced school governing bodies to think outside the box for workable catering solutions.
How can I enhance my school cafeteria’s services?
Bringing in advanced cooking equipment can make things so much easier for your school cafeteria staff, and help you save on utility bills.
And, with a flexible rental agreement in place, you can get this equipment installed without significant upfront investment.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Cooking
Being able to actually cook — rather than just reheat processed food — should be at the top of the school catering agenda.
Cooking is the most important yet energy-intensive process in the canteen. A new, professional-grade oven, microwave or salamander grill can give your staff capacity to cook different foods, maximise your food preparation space and reduce your gas and electricity bills.
Refrigeration
The fresh ingredients you’re now expected to serve need refrigerating if they’re to last more than a couple of days.
Commercial refrigerators are now bigger yet more eco-friendly than ever. Use them to store your increased intake of fruit and vegetables, or to chill water for your pupils.
Washing up
With more of your catering staff’s time dedicated to food preparation, you should look to make processes more efficient wherever possible.
A new dishwasher can help you increase the capacity of each load, and clean items that might otherwise need handwashing.
Dishwashers are given an energy rating of ‘A+++’ to ‘D’. However, machines from pre-2011 can score as low as ‘G’, lumbering you with unnecessary electricity and water-related costs.
Getting the right equipment in place can help you save on costs and give your pupils the nutritional balance they need to perform to their best.
Call on Utility Rentals and start optimising your school cafeteria’s equipment today.
