Sector support

Education

From schools to universities, this sector means catering for a multi-cultural range of consumers with a wide range of dietary requirements, who are keen to immerse themselves in international cuisine and adventurous ways of eating.

We understand the importance of offering nutritionally balanced options to this customer base, with meals also being suited to those following vegan and vegetarian diets whilst also being mindful of declarable allergens and convenience.

Our development chefs are constantly working to bring new ﬂavours and inspirational recipe ideas to you - all full of colour, texture and of course ﬂavour with the help of the finest stock and sauce bases on the market.

Download our sector guides below for more information about food trends, industry challenges and how to counter them through our recommended range of products and inspirational recipe ideas.

View our FREE Interactive Sector Guides!

We have such good support from Essential Cuisine.
We’ve been using Essential Cuisine since 2012. If we are ever worried about any of their products, we just make a phone call and they talk us through exactly what is in the product.

Sue Brady, Sue Brady Catering - School Caterer Provider, Wiltshire

I can really tell the difference in quality from stocks I have worked with in the past.
The focus Essential Cuisine has put on removing allergens from its stocks has been a huge help - this gives us real peace of mind in the kitchen.

Mark Coombs - Felsted School, Essex

Latest sector news...

Planning your menu for veganuary?

24th November 2020

Since 2014, Veganuary has inspired and supported more than 1 million people in 192 countries to try vegan for January - and beyond. Last year more than 1200 new vegan products and menus were launched in aim to support the movement. Over 400,000 consumers took part in January 2020, each citing a number of reasons as their motivation including; health, animal welfare and the environment.

Essential Cuisine supports National School Meals Week

10th November 2020

For the last 30 years, National School Meals Week (NSMW) has been raising awareness about the importance of nutritious school meals. With the education sector, amongst others, dealing with the daily challenges of the COVID pandemic, this campaign has never been more important. With the return of hot meals being staggered over the country, we stand with LACA and their Hot’ober initiative, to encourage conversations between caterers, school representatives, on site staff and parents to facilitate the return of hot lunches as soon as everyone feels it safe to do so.