School dinner revolution: tablecloths and place settings to improve kids' eating skills

 
St Anneís Catholic High School for Girls, Lower School Enfield, where a new revolution in school meals which sees children being able to choose their meals from a database and then have them served at school, with proper cutlery/tablecothes/flowers etc in order to encourage them to enjoy food and eatingÖ.. L to R: Georgia Sklinidjis 14, Tofunmi Olaleye 13, Kinga Kutermankiewicz 12, Elise Modeste 12 and cook Tracey Brooks
Maxine Frith8 November 2012

School canteens could become bistros under a “lunchtime revolution” being proposed by a caterer.

The plans aim to improve the quality of meals and also the behaviour and eating skills of children.

Plastic moulded trays and cutlery will be replaced with china plates and steel knives and forks.

Tables will be covered with cloths and flower arrangements to create a more civilised atmosphere in canteens, with lunch supervisors bringing the children their meals.

Justin Fairhall, whose company Lunchtime UK already serves several state primaries in north London as well as private schools and colleges, came up with the idea. He believes that Jamie Oliver’s much-hyped overhaul of school dinners was misguided and has failed to deliver tangible benefits.

The issue hit headlines again earlier this year when Scottish schoolgirl Martha Payne began blogging pictures and comments about the poor quality of her lunch.

She was briefly banned from blogging by school authorities, who relented following an international outcry. Her and her father David’s book about the furore, NeverSeconds, is published next week.

Mr Fairhall’s scheme includes computer software which will enable children to visit a website the night before their lunch and choose the meals they want. Payment is via an account controlled by their parents. Orders will be collated and the ingredients sent to a “hub” school site with a kitchen, where the meals will be prepared in the morning and sent to participating schools.

Mr Fairhall said: “I think that if you make lunch an enjoyable event, with tablecloths and flowers, it can have a civilising effect.”

He says the costs of better cutlery and meals will be partly offset by increased efficiency in ordering and reductions in waste, meaning the standard meal will cost around £2. Mr Fairhall will start rolling out the new service from next year.

With many schools no longer having kitchens on site, lunchtime supervisors could be diverted from preparing food to waiting on the children and clearing tables, reducing queuing time and delays.

Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent, founders of restaurant chain Leon, are undertaking a government-ordered review of school meals and are expected to unveil their recommendations early next year.

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