Our blog

We were pleased to chat to Catering Manager, Tony Mulgrew from Ravenscliffe High School about some of the impacts Coronavirus has had on his kitchen operation, adjustments that have been made and what the future looks like in the Education sector. 
 
How have the past few months been for you? 
 
Being an independent in-house caterer, prior to lockdown, we had to work closely with our Senior Leadership Team and Head Teachers. Our catering provision was split across two sites serving a community cafe (open to the public) and two primary schools (one being transported hot meals). 
 
What changes or safety processes have been put into place to protect you, your team and those you cater for?
 
Our priority was to ensure the safety of our students and staff by addressing the Catering Kitchen Risk Assessment, COSHH & HACCP. Splitting our most vulnerable students into small bubbles enabled them to attend throughout lockdown until the end of the summer term. Our catering team was also split into smaller groups as we were catering for smaller numbers, with the cafe being closed and the primary schools offering packed lunches. With regards to our menu, it’s been important to us to offer fresh, hot meals. To do this we worked with our fantastic, local suppliers. 
 
In terms of your menu, have you simplified your offerings over the past couple of months?
 
Making meals fresh means that we have the flexibility to amend our offerings as necessary. Over the past few months, the only thing we reduced was our range of sandwiches. This meant that each day meat, salad and vegetables, plus a vegan / vegetarian alternative were available to pre-order. These were then delivered to each bubble via individual trollies, we found that the pre-ordering system significantly reduced our food waste. 
 
Looking to the future, how are you altering your menu as we move into Autumn / Winter?
 
As for our forthcoming Autumn / Winter menu, we are going to offer the same hot options. We will however be introducing "Meat Free Monday’s” and "Fish Friday’s” (partnered with a vegan / vegetarian option). Our pre-planned menus have been checked over from an allergen perspective, this is one of the reasons why we love using Essential Cuisine products. These ingredients save us a huge amount of time, plus the whole range is gluten free and many products contain no declarable allergens*. 
 
Any messages or advice for fellow chefs in the current climate?
 
As a professional school caterer, it is my job to offer customers (our students) the freshest, highest quality, hot meals, because in reality, our offerings could be the only full meals certain pupils eat in a day. Keeping this at the forefront of my mind keeps me motivated. 
 
If you have any queries or are looking for advice, head to our COVID19 support page to discover how we can offer a helping hand. 
 
Do you want to share your experience of the current climate? If you are interested in sharing your story and featuring on the Essential Cuisine blog, please email sophie.higgs@essentialcuisine.com for more details. 
 
 ^Does not contain declarable allergens under the EU regulation 1169/2011 (Annex 11)