Pupils from three local schools welcomed Food Revolution Day by sampling a taster menu of delicious and exciting dishes that will soon be regulars on their lunch menus.

The student councils from Delamere Academy, Oak View Academy and St Martin’s Academy became food critics for a day, tasting and reviewing a variety of dishes as part of the schools’ work to develop new lunch menus to be launched in September.

The ingredients used were fresh and homegrown, with the meat provided from award winning local butcher Cowards of Frodsham, who will be the sole provider of meat to all three schools. Chicken Katsu curry and slow-cooked beef pie were clear favourites with the children, who all agreed that the food tasted much better than the current menu.

North West Academies Trust (NWAT) and its schools recently took the decision to bring catering entirely in-house, to ensure more control over menus and the opportunity to source and purchase local food without compromising on quality.

CEO of NWAT Steve Docking welcomed the positive response to the taster menu said: “We decided to ask the student council representatives to sample the new menu and review each dish with a score of one to five. The quality, taste and presentation of the food was simply amazing. It was great to see the children tasting each meal and then discussing it with each other.

Pupils from three local schools welcomed Food Revolution Day by sampling a taster menu of delicious and exciting dishes that will soon be regulars on their lunch menus
Pupils from three local schools welcomed Food Revolution Day by sampling a taster menu of delicious and exciting dishes that will soon be regulars on their lunch menus

“This is an exciting opportunity to really make a difference. We want to broaden the children’s tastebuds and make lunch more than a distraction from learning and play – a social experience where they enjoy a high quality and tasty meal.

“All of the children said the food tasted better than the current school menu. Before we decided to bring the schools’ catering in house, I hadn’t realised how bland the school food was. The positive response from the children confirms that we were right to make changes to school meal provision.

“By working together, Delamere, St Martin’s and Oak View have made positive changes to catering and will be introducing a new and exciting menu in September. This is another example of how we are making our schools bespoke and innovative places for our pupils.”