Protecting meal uptake emerged as one of the sector's key concerns, with delegates stressing the need to balance nutritional improvements with menu appeal and pupil engagement. There was broad support for a phased implementation approach, allowing schools, suppliers and catering teams time to adapt while ensuring children continue to choose school meals.
While challenges around funding, compliance and changing consumer behaviour were widely acknowledged, the conversation remained positive and solutions-focused. Attendees highlighted opportunities to bring greater consistency across the sector. Andrew Miller, Educational Commercial Service Manager at Nottingham City Council, said: "Clearer approaches to evidencing and monitoring standards would help create a level playing field for providers while giving schools, parents and pupils greater confidence in school food provision. The opportunity now is for the industry to work collaboratively to improve outcomes for children while ensuring providers are supported to deliver high-quality, sustainable and financially viable services."
The roundtable explored how innovation and technology can support the future of school catering by improving efficiency, reducing waste, enhancing consistency and enabling catering teams to deliver nutritious meals at scale while working within operational and budget constraints.
These are key challenges that RATIONAL is uniquely positioned to help address, and following the discussion delegates attended a live cooking demonstration hosted by RATIONAL Expert Chef Holly Charnock. Bringing the themes discussed around the table to life, the session showcased practical cooking techniques, menu ideas and technology-led solutions, demonstrating efficient production methods and strategies for delivering high-quality, nutritious meals within the realities of modern school kitchens.
David Gledhill, Public Sector Specialist at RATIONAL UK, said: “The topics discussed during the roundtable are exactly the challenges we work with schools to solve every day. It was important for us not just to talk about the opportunities, but to demonstrate them in practice, showing how the right technology and cooking processes can help caterers deliver nutritious meals more efficiently, consistently and sustainably.“
The event proved particularly timely, with many of the themes discussed during the roundtable, including meal uptake, nutrition, implementation, monitoring and industry collaboration, reflected in this week's official announcement of updated School Food Standards
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