August? Did someone say August??
Didn’t we just sit/cheer/shout/cry our way through sports day and prize giving? Didn’t we just bankrupt ourselves on end of term teachers’ presents? Can it already be time to head back to the queues in the John Lewis school shoe department? Is it already necessary to go through the uniforms to make sure those trousers still fit? They never do…. Yep. Sorry parents. Your kids may be lolling around watching Netflix but we grown ups still have work to do. Apart from our jobs of course. We have to get our offspring ready for next term, looming in a few very, very short weeks.
And we’re not the only ones. Teachers around the country are lamenting the lightning speed with which those summer weeks whizz by every year. Lesson plans are afoot and long lists of new children’s names are being studied. Schools are not run by teachers alone. Ask your child what the highlight of their school day is and the answer will invariably be lunch. So are the kitchen staff resting on their laurels enjoying precious time off? Are they relaxing on a hot beach, sangria in hand? Well, maybe. But very soon they’ll be back at the drawing board. Planning and re-assessing the school menu.
Summer is time to take stock of the dislikes and loves of those fussy, yet discerning, little palettes. Universally, school chefs are working hard to make sure those little learners in their charge are fuelled for a happy and healthy day of learning.
It’s time to think back to those mountains of mushrooms that went to waste, or the piles of pilau that wasn’t eaten. Sometimes food that adults find mouth-watering simply doesn’t appeal to children, who often have simpler tastes. Of course it’s important to expose kids to interesting flavours and textures so that they grow up with a healthy and varied appetite, but it’s also vital to ensure that we cater for their tastes and strike a happy balance between being educators and feeders.
Masses of evidence, and common sense, tells us that children perform better both academically and socially when they’re well-fed. Instilling healthy eating habits at a young age sets them up to understand and love food (the right food) for life. Too many stories in our news feeds talk about the world-wide problem of obesity. It’s a killer and it costs the NHS millions every year. This is our chance, whilst our children are young, to teach them how to eat well and how to love really delicious food.
Burgers and mash, be banished! (Except for home-made, organic burgers made with British beef….)
And this is where Quattro Foods comes in. As one of the UK’s leading food manufacturers, we supply high street restaurants, food service providers, the Army, the NHS and the education sector with the highest quality and most delicious food products.
We have also made some cunning sauces for primary schools with ‘hidden vegetables’ blended into them, so the little ones can neither spot them nor pick them out! One is a sweet and sour sauce and the other a korma sauce – but there are more to come – watch this space.
We are as proud of our reputation as one of the UK’s leading food manufacturers as we are passionate about feeding our kids. Schools and colleges have an obligation to nourish our youth and we are on-hand to help. Our chefs work tirelessly to create food products that help their peers working in large school kitchens who need to save time in order to feed hundreds of tiny tummies. We create foods that enhance menu plans in schools, helping their staff offer kids the healthiest and tastiest lunches.
Here are some of our most popular school foods:
• Herby Tomato Pasta Sauce
• Tomato & Mascarpone Pasta Sauce
• Vegetable Chilli
• Refried Beans
• Volcano Chicken
• Herby Tomato & Chorizo Sauce
• Tomato & Meatball Sauce
• Beef Chilli
• Bolognese Sauce
• Pepperonatta Sauce
• Nepalese Curry Sauce
• Chicken Fajita Sauce
• Mild Chilli Sauce
• Spicy Mexican Rice Sauce
• Ratatouille
• Medio Medium Chilli Sauce
• Hot Chilli Sauce
• Katsu Curry
• Thai Red Curry
• Carbonara
• Cheese 4 Mac
• Sweet & Sour Vegetable Sauce
• Vegetable Chow Mein Sauce
We also make a Halal Meatball Marinara and Chicken Tikka Masala Sauce.
If you work in a school kitchen and you are looking to develop a new school menu ahead of the new term, Quattro Foods can help.