Catering at Strathallan

General

At Strathallan we are committed to providing excellent food for our pupils.

Catering is provided in our purpose built dining facility by Sodexo. All meals are freshly prepared in our kitchens on a daily basis. Our Catering Manager and his assistant look after a team of trained Chefs and Food Handling Assistants to ensure that the standard of catering is kept at a very high level.

We provide breakfast, lunch and dinner within the dining hall and Boarding Houses are provided with supplies of bread, milk and low-fat spreads for in-house snacking. There is a wide range of menu choice at every meal with salad, vegetarian soup and bread available at every lunch and dinner in addition to a choice of hot and cold main dishes. Baked potatoes plus fillings are also available at lunch and dinner and there is always fresh fruit. To round off both lunch and dinner there is a range of sweets and/or biscuits and cheese. Our breakfasts comprise porridge, cereals, fruit juices, yogurts as well as a cooked option, with a Continental style being offered once a week to maintain choice. Such is the selection, variety and quality of the food on offer, it is rare for anyone to leave the dining hall still hungry!

In addition to this core catering, our catering team regularly provide bespoke catering for the wide variety of in-school functions, from parents’ lunches, BBQ’s and prefects’ dinners to events like the 6th Form Ball and Burns Night.

In keeping with the environmental aspirations of both the School and Sodexo, as much produce as possible is locally sourced. All suppliers are accredited by Sodexo and undergo rigorous checking to assure that their produce is always of the highest quality. The Catering team also provide information displays regarding a variety of food issues and we are proud that our catering has received the Healthy Living Award.

Nutritional Information & Healthy Eating

The menus presented, in addition to a daily salad bar and delicatessen, successfully offers food choices that provide the range and balance of nutrients necessary for growth and development. Vegetarian choices are provided to the same standard and many of the menu items can be adapted to suit a range of dietary restrictions. The menus provide the recommended balance of protein, carbohydrate, dairy, fruits and vegetables. The recommended intake of suitable fats and the percentage of total energy requirement varies with age.

Menus and recipes have been developed to ensure that saturated fat is reduced and choices with higher levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are available as recommended. The creative use of vegetables in both soups and main dishes in addition to the availability of vegetable and salad choices aid the intake of levels recommended for each age group of pupil at the School. As with all children their choices and volume of food consumed will determine the total energy intake and ultimately influence growth and weight gain.

The development of menus and food choices for a wide range of ages can be very challenging especially if these are to meet daily nutritional requirements as opposed to the 30% expectation for lunch provision. The availability of foods to meet not only the changing nutritional requirements and health recommendations of the young but also incorporate individual preferences for taste, texture etc does require clever use of menu items to achieve all aspects. In addition, the variety of food on offer, with the inclusion of ‘pizza nights’ etc does reduce the possibility of choice fatigue which can be a negative aspect of a rotational menu – especially for pupils who are boarders.

Minerals, especially iron and calcium are very important for all ages but can be more difficult to achieve in teenage girls and fussy eaters. The foods available offer a variety of sources of these minerals and should present no problem to the majority. The flexibility and adaptations possible are very useful if individuals have preferences or dietary restrictions that will compromise their intake or make this more difficult.

The menus meet both the standards for school meals, the nutritional requirements of the young and
also a few of the wider benefits and influences on food and eating behaviours.

The Healthy Eating Award is granted following inspection by external accreditors who assess all aspects of our menu, choice and food preparation. We have held the Healthy Living Award at Strathallan School for two years and are now eligible to apply for the Healthy Living Plus Award, this is a higher level of award that rewards catering establishments that demonstrate a greater commitment to healthy living and have held the Healthy Living Award for two years. 

 
Food Committee

A Food Committee, involving pupil representatives and staff meets at least once a term to discuss catering matters. A Report covering the most recent Meeting appears below:

Food Committee Meeting 27th January:

This was attended by representatives from each house, Mr Barnes (Second Master) and Mr Stewart (Catering Manger) and Mr Glasgow (Bursar).

The House Reps were thanked for attending with the importance of their feedback being highlighted.

Following the usual standing Agenda, the quality and quantity of the food was discussed, with each set of House Food Reps invited to bring forward their menu comments, complaints and ideas.

The feedback was, as per the last Meeting, almost universally positive, with mostly only menu amendments suggested. Much of the feedback demonstrated contentment at the continuing high standard of the catering, but also that when it comes to matters of taste, you can’t keep everyone happy all the time! The feedback on pasta continues to keep the Catering Manager on his toes to try and ensure that it is always ‘al dente’. The pupils confirmed their agreement that ‘Brinner’ (the serving of breakfast at dinner) was popular and should be tried again. Self service at Sunday tea has also been well received.

Mr Barnes highlighted importance of raising issues with food at the time as this is the most effective time to investigate any quality issue. Pupils should feel confident to raise issues with the catering staff or with academic staff (who were present at all meals) or with senior pupils.

Mr Glasgow raised the issue of waste and that money saved will be re-invested in the catering provision. Mr Barnes added the moral dimension and challenged the Food Reps to consider a pupil-lead campaign to reduce the level of food waste generated in the dining hall.

As is now usual, the Catering Manager will now produce an action plan following this Meeting’s feedback to be briefed to all the Houses prior to the next Committee Meeting.

Parents are welcome to join the Food Committee. If you would like to join us, please email David Barnes at djb@strathallan.co.uk

The menu for the coming weeks can be found on the following link:
Link to Lunch Menus and Dinner Menus