For children, eating must be fun, but most importantly, healthy! Are you considering bringing your school catering in-house? With budget pressures, staffing, equipment and government-controlled Healthy Eating Standards , such a big decision can seem daunting.
Below we have listed five concerns school leaders have when considering bringing catering in-house at a school and examples of what you can do to combat them.
School Kitchens can be limited in space, so it's essential to prioritise the must-have pieces of equipment. Firstly, ensure a room is big enough, integrate non-slip flooring and wipe clean walls, and guarantee adequate ventilation and electrical services. Also, check with your local authority to see if they have a catering framework to help source equipment.
Then find multifunctional equipment that saves space, like the RATIONAL iCombi Pro . As it's multifunctional, you can have a kitchen up to 60% smaller, which helps if you are limited in space. The team at RATIONAL can even help you design your kitchen space, so it might be worth getting in touch to see if we can assist!
Setting up your kitchen will be a larger initial cost; sourcing food prep equipment, like food processors and chopping boards, serving stations and crockery, dishwashers etc. But, one piece of equipment you can save money on is your catering oven requirements.
With one RATIONAL iCombi Pro , you lose the need to buy traditional cooking equipment. The iCombi Pro can prepare 90% of all of a school's food whilst saving precious space, which can bake, grill, fry and steam fresh and frozen food. Its intelligent cooking functions mean it automatically adjusts cooking processes depending on the environment and size and quantity of the food. This makes cooking food easier for your in-house catering team while minimising food waste.
Don't panic! You won't need to hire loads of new staff, chefs and servers. School canteens need kitchen cooks, but from there, you could have teachers, parents or even students volunteering to queue-monitor and collect plates to bolster the school community.
Regarding mealtime, if you have the iCombi Pro in your school kitchen, with its intelligent digital display, it's self-explanatory. It can easily be operated, error-free, following brief training, which can help when hiring a catering team without needing lots of experienced chefs.
Where some outsourced catering companies might be able to source better value food due to links with suppliers, you can use food procurement providers. They work closely with in-house school catering teams to help reduce food expenditure and provide schools with affordable food products.
Food procurement services also have the knowledge and experience you will still need to gain, which will help you cater to specialist dietary requirements.
A seasonal approach can be an excellent way to keep your menu varied throughout the academic year while also controlling costs. Food in-season in the UK will travel less to get to your students' plates. The life of the produce will be considerably longer than those pricier alternatives that have had to travel across the globe to reach you. By using seasonal and local food, you can reduce food waste and save money and also a great way to teach children about food seasonality.
We recognise that catering for young people goes much further than simply supplying a meal; it is about ensuring that every school’s food fuels students to succeed in everyday life at school. And as school leaders, you want to ensure that pupils can receive a healthy, well-balanced and innovative menu within the constraints of in-house catering budgets, staff shortages and minimal working space.
At RATIONAL, we can help you save money with intelligent cooking systems. Our iCombi Pro can produce hundreds of recipes again and again with a touch of a button, with the need only of a small team. Get in touch with the team at RATIONAL now, who can talk you through our products or our kitchen design service.