Inside this month:

New Autumn & Spring

school Menus ............. p3

gardening growing tips

for this autumn .........p4

what we're doing

about e-coli ................p2

marketing your

school food hall ......p5

rewards for top

kitchen teams ............p7

what we're cooking

this month .................. p8

Graham Freer Commercial Manager, Catering

has been very busy in the last year, having listened to your feedback: improving services, adapting to the increasing financial pressure on school budgets and increasing food costs, whilst altering kitchen working procedures to comply with new Safety guidelines,to combat E. coli. We are also developing our service in line with the Government’s School Food Plan, launched in July, building on our existing commitment and ethos of serving fresh, great tasting, locally sourced food whilst helping children understand where their food comes from and to appreciate and enjoy good food.

In the Spring of 2013, we were on the front foot, reassuring children, parents and schools that our menu was unaffected by the Horsemeat scandal. Whilst many caterers and shops were

struggling with the outcome of their procurement policies (or lack of) we provided clear cut information via the media, our website and letters to schools that our Farm Assured meat was either locally sourced or accredited from the UK.

Our aims for the new academic year 2013/14 are to ensure we continue to keep food safe, ahead of new E. coli regulations. We will also extend our investment in new signage and marketing material for parents and pupils and continue to support local suppliers and grow our great community projects, like our own Little Cooks Cookery School and develop links with other organisations such as Emma Haines ‘Cook With Me Kids’. We will also ensure that our teams are recognised for the fantastic work they do across the region, as we welcome more schools to our portfolio, building on our successes this year in Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex, with new partners who recognise our Food Philosophy:

Passionate about food Local ingredients for dishes made from scratch, traceable from ground to plate

Partnership ethos Our teams are supported by a great local management team, so you can be part of the school’s community

Success from integrity What we say we will do, we do.

We will continue to work with and support Head Teachers, Governors, Parents and Pupils, and these newsletters are designed to keep you informed of changes and developments each term.

If you have comments and feedback on our service, we would love to hear from you; our contact details can be found on page 8.

From everyone at we wish you a successful and prosperous year.

Graham

The Commentsept 13 issue 1

The catering newsletter

One of the most important developments for 2013/14 will be the implementation of new E. coli

prevention procedures in all our kitchens. While incidents of E. coli are thankfully very rare, eats will ensure that all our kitchens take appropriate precautions to keep food safe, particularly as we serve food to vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly.

We have established a Primary Authority Partnership with Ipswich Borough Council Environmental Health, to help achieve consistency across council boundaries. The partnership is following Food Standard Agency guidance compiled after serious E. coli outbreaks in Scotland and Wales, which resulted in

serious long-term health problems and even deaths (including young school children).

We are reviewing all our procedures to ensure they are in line with this wide ranging new guidance, which includes both kitchen and supplier practices, whilst keeping disruption to menus and kitchen usage to a minimum.

Simon Manning, (Principal Environmental Health Officer) at Ipswich Borough Council said ‘It is also very important that kitchen hygiene remains under eats control, so that the requirements of the guidance can be met’. The new guidelines may mean that kitchens should no longer be used for multiple

school tasks without further measures being applied (ie breakfast / after school clubs), however Eats will work with all our schools to ensure that extra-curricular activities can continue.

Although this guidance challenges established practices which have been considered perfectly safe for many years, I’m sure you will agree that by working with our local EHO teams and being pro-active, we can maintain a healthy, safe environment for children in every school.

Healthand

Safety Developments

Food SafetyTraining

Sara keeps you up to date

Whilst kitchen teams are familiar with

our Food Safety training, they may

not be aware that the courses are

proving very popular with schools, with Ofsted

now checking Food Safety provision for early

years and beyond. The training is proving

beneficial for teachers, teaching assistants,

food technologists and mid-day supervisors.

It is important that relevant people are made

aware of food safety risks, which is beneficial to

any of their activities in school involving food.

Eats training team is Chartered Institute of

Environmental Health Officer (CIEH) registered

and provide a one stop centre for delivery of

CIEH accredited courses.

We also offer eats branded courses (which

follow the CIEH syllabus) and can be specifically

developed to suit the requirements of your

school. All courses can be held at a time and

venue that is convenient for you.

CIEH Accredited Level 2 Award

in Food Safety

A six hour course (includes certification)

£70 per candidate.

Eats Level 2 award in Food Safety

A 3 hour course following the CIEH syllabus

(includes eats branded certificate)

£30 per candidate.

All courses are available to book

on CPD online.

For more information on the

Food Safety Training, please contact

sara.hinchliffe@easternfms.co.uk.

on:E-ColiFocuSFocus

2 FEAST The Eats Catering Newsletter

Many parents believe that a packed lunch is the healthiest option. In fact it is far easier to

get the necessary nutrients into a fresh cooked meal, while only 1% of packed lunches meet the nutritional standards that apply to school food (Department for Education stats 2013).

What’s more, as the seasons move from autumn into winter, our hearty new menu will help ensure your child is kept warm and comfortable throughout the chilly months ahead. It’s full of favourites from around the world as well as classic British winter warmers, including hearty main courses and delicious puddings.

We love working with and supporting local food producers and the map below shows where some of the ingredients we use come from.

&Spring TermMenuS

Autumn autumn new

key ingredient This month’s

key ingredient

Eats is proud that we make our food fresh from ingredients provided, without using

bought in packet mixes. We ensure our teams can cook and bake what’s on your child’s plate. Our suppliers, Marriage’s, provide a great local source of flour for bread and bread products on our menus.

W & H Marriage & Sons Ltd has been milling flour in Essex since 1824. Today, the company is owned and run by the fifth and sixth generations of the Marriage family.

Marriage’s flour is produced using a combination of the traditional techniques we have used for generations and the best of modern milling technology. All our stone-ground wholemeal flours are traditionally milled on horizontal French Burr stones. These stones have been used for milling flour

for over a hundred years and play a vital part in the taste and texture of the flour.

Marriage’s produce a range of thirteen award winning, premium quality bread, cake and pastry flours for home bakers, including organic varieties. All of our strong flours are suitable for bread machines and hand baking.

300g Marriage’s Organic Light Brown Self Raising flour175g unrefined caster sugara pinch sea saltthe grated rind of 1 unwaxed lemon60ml sunflower oil1 large egg, beaten225ml milk225g blueberriesa muffin tray lined with paper muffin cases

Mix the flour with the sugar, salt and lemon rind in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the oil, beaten egg and milk. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until roughly mixed, then add the fruit and stir until just combined (for the best texture be careful not to overmix).

Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and bake in the heated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden and firm to the touch.

Remove from the tray and cool the muffins on a wire rack. Eat warm or at room temperature.

Marriage’s

Blueberry MuffinsPacked with fresh or frozen fruit

(use straight from the freezer),

these muffins are great for coffee

time, lunchboxes and picnics.

Makes 12 - best eaten within 24 hours!

Heat the oven to

220C/440F, or Gas 6.

FEAST The Eats Catering Newsletter 3

gardenin the

What to Grow this AutumnGArden

This autumn is set to be much longer, and colder than that of recent years, so your kitchen

garden needs to contain the right plants! Lettuce , beets, and carrots grow well before chilly times when there is hard frost. Peas, cabbage, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower, will continue growing with hard frosts.

When thinking about your garden, think about what you want from it this autumn. You’ll have to stick with bought in Argentinean strawberries I’m afraid, as they simply won’t grow in our climate during colder months, but you

can plan recipes around other, hardier greengrocery items like those above.

The key is to sow your seeds now and throughout the warmer September/early October period so that the seeds can establish early. Our top tips are to grow Broad Beans, Peas, Lambs Lettuce, Onions/Spring Onions/Shallots, Garlic, and if you’re feeling adventurous try Asparagus – A common misconception is that asparagus beds are hard work, but if you get the bed weed-free, as with other perennial vegetables, they take far less work than annual vegetables! You do wait for two years before you can cut

them, but it is a small price to pay for a gourmet extravaganza.

EFMS Grounds Service (Also known as “County Grounds”) is the award winning grounds service which operates in over 300 school sites in East Anglia, offering maintenance, landscape design and construction of fantastic playgrounds: Working in the interests of children.

4 FEAST The Eats Catering Newsletter

GrowingFor the eighth year, we have supplied schools with free seeds and seed potatoes – supported by Alison Findlay from the Royal Horticultural Association – to be grown in schools’ kitchen gardens. We also attended the Suffolk Schools Farm Fair and involved the children in potting lessons.

CookingWe hold after-school cookery sessions in school, with lessons being taken by our Heads of Kitchen. These practical lessons also teach children where their food is from, the benefits of home cooked food, seasonality and how to ‘love food and hate waste’.

EatingOur menus are traditionally prepared and use a high proportion of locally produced food. They also meet the Food for Life Bronze Award. We are also working with schools to improve dining spaces to help lunchtime enjoyment, behaviour and improving the schools food culture. If your school is aiming for accreditation, get in touch – we can help!activities

launchedEssentia�y it’s about

encouraging �e pleasures of

PROPERFOOD

growing

eating

GOVERNMENT

SUPPORTED THESE A IMS

good food & happiness

e a r l i e r i n t h e y e a r . . . the plan was

here are some of this year 's

FFFF

lk

lkby the

AND At Eats our ethos has always

the

HAVE the

SEEN

Contact us: 01473 260600hello@weprint4schools.co.ukweprint4schools.co.uk

signs?

FEAST The Eats Catering Newsletter 5

Great food is only one part of the equation – Children need to be entering a great social

environment, which is both inviting and educational. Eats has developed a new range of signs with schools and our Colleagues at weprint4schools.co.uk – promoting the meals and quality ingredients, as well as offering a “farm to fork” story.

The pictures show examples from Gusford Primary, and our new sites at Heybridge Primary, Essex and Sewell Park College in Norwich.

Whilst eats will continue to provide promotional material for special lunches and menus, the bespoke signage is funded by schools. A typical servery sign costs around £200. For some of our signage, we work with Realise Futures – a registered charity which enables disadvantaged and disabled adults to gain skills and employment. The picture above right shows the fantastic 3D sign which was produced by Realise Futures for Westbourne Academy, as part of eats’ investment package.

For a quotation for your school, contact chris.smith@easternfms.co.uk

Signage&Marketing3D Westbourne Signage, Ipswich

Gusford Servery Signage, Ipswich

A range of Servery signage at Sewell Park College in Norwich

Our 'Farm 2 Fork' story at Heybridge Primary School, Essex

Investment

& His Van…

Our cooking sessions went down a treat!

In March 2013, we took delivery of a mobile cooking van, with a bold vision

to attend shows and events throughout East Anglia, promoting

eats’ school food and linking with local food and producers.

To date it has attended the Suffolk Show, community and school events and

been used for our ‘Little Cooks Cookery sessions for primary age pupils that ran throughout the summer holidays. Rest assured eats has not deviated to offering roadside refreshment and bacon butties! The “Streats Kitchen” is a fully fitted mobile kitchen, designed to work with schools’ food curricula.

Emma Youngman, (former Head of Kitchen at Rose Hill Primary), has been working with Head teachers to devise after school cookery sessions for students. Emma and her dedicated team, have successfully trialled the sessions during the summer term, which will be offered to more schools in 2013/14. These practical sessions also teach students where their school lunch ingredients are from, the benefits of home cooked food and most importantly that food is fun!

Uniquely the trainers at the cookery sessions are our Heads of Kitchen who are passionate about passing on their cooking skills and love of food. The arrangement ensures that students know their friendly instructor and understand what local and seasonal produce is used in the food their school lunches.

Eats provide everything that’s required for the sessions, which are generally held in the school hall and utilise the school’s kitchen equipment for cooking. Schools normally book 12 after school sessions (comprising 2 x 11/2 or 2 hour sessions for six weeks of a half term). The sessions are funded by the school or through parent donations (or a combination of both).

For further information please email info@eats-catering.co.uk

our Man our Man

CommitmentOuTSTANdiNG

6 FEAST The Eats Catering Newsletter

Aldeburgh Food Festival

eVenTSeVenTs

Eats are also working with Emma Haines

from ‘Cook With Me’ (a locally based cookery school) to help Suffolk schools develop their food culture. Cook With Me, like eats, also offer children’s cookery sessions, along with butchery courses and cook-a-long’s with top chefs.

Eats and Cook With Me recently shared the stage at The Aldeburgh Food Festival, telling visitors about their work in schools promoting healthy eating, connecting students with locally produced food and also the need to value food and not waste it.

See www.cookwithme.org.uk for more information

June WoodWe would like to recognise June, our fantastic Head of Kitchen at Ixworth Primary, for her exceptional dedication to eats. Some people boast 10 years, sometimes even 20 years with the same company. June has been providing pupils at Ixworth with nutritious, tasty meals for 50 years! Julie retires in October, and on behalf of everyone at eats, we wish her a long and happy retirement.

Beverly CliffordBeverly has given wide ranging knowledge, support, assistance and advice as our Capital Projects Manager during her time with eats. Our teams have benefitted from the thought and care that she has put into all the new kitchens and refurbishments she has been involved in. Beverly’s a font of knowledge, excellent at running events such as the Suffolk Show and always good for practical, sound advice. eats would like to offer our very best wishes to Beverly, as she retires in September.

“The Lovely Linda”, our head of kitchen at Gunton Community Primary School and her busy kitchen bees, like all our teams, have worked phenomenally hard in 2012/13 – and were rewarded with the title of “Best Dinner Lady”, voted for by her pupils! eats also ran a competition for pupils to write about their favourite dishes, which was won by Henry from Gunton Primary – Well done Henry!

Eastern Facilities Management Solutions Ltd, (eats’ Parent Company) is the proud

sponsor of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, and makes a contribution to the charity as well as supporting EAAA events throughout the year.

Aside from that, Chris Denny recently embarked on an ambitious, team ride

through Europe in aid of COHOC, who provide nursing support for families with children who have acute or chronic illness. Over £17,000 was raised. Allyson Rogers is also climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in aid of Help for Heroes.

We prepared ice-packs and plenty of cushions for both on their return!

Top TeamOur New Competition

Eats is well aware that our teams work hard to produce fantastic, fresh food during the school

year, and we’d like to recognise their contribution. We would like schools, pupils and parents to vote for their catering team in our new “Top Team” competition.

Voting will open in January, to select 3 top teams (one from each eats region – North, South and West), with a grand winner to be chosen by a panel of experts (pupils and teachers!) at Easter. The winning team will receive a summer break in conjunction with Best Western Hotels!!

Team

FocuS

The Ashley SchoolThey say it’s tough at the top, but at The Ashley School Academy Trust, Lowestoft, Margaret Jones and her team have done such a fantastic job this year that Margaret won an award for being Lowestoft’s best boss, run by “The Beach” local radio station.

Gunton Primary

communityprojecTS

community&Charity

Good luck Chris & Allyson!

FEAST The Eats Catering Newsletter 7

Every issue of Feast will bring you a great, tasty recipe, written by one of our kitchen teams, which you can cook with your children, and makes use of local East Anglian ingredients.

Val Fenn from Norton Community Primary brings us Easy Sticky Pork – Enjoy!

We’recookingcookinG

Shopping List4 Pork chops, steaks or belly strips

1 Tablespoon butter

2 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon ready made mustard

(English, Dijon, or Wholegrain)

2 Tablespoon Honey or Marmalade

(marmalade reduces the sweetness).

EASY STiCKY PORK

• Prep time 15 minutes• Cooking time 1hr (30 minutes extra

marinating time is optional)• Preheat oven to 180C / Gas 4/5 • Serves 4 (or 2 particularly hungry

young people!)

Method Place all the ingredients in a bowl (not pork) heat in microwave (if you haven’t a microwave in a saucepan over gentle heat until the butter has melted, whisk until well blended.

Score the pork with a sharp knife 3 or 4 cuts on each side and place in oven proof dish, using a pastry brush coat both sides of the pork using all the marinade.

At this stage you can either put the pork straight in the pre-heated oven or place the pork in the fridge to marinate until required.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour, as the pork is cooking turn every 20 minutes.

Test that the pork is cooked before serving if unsure cook for a little longer the edges of the pork will char slightly not to worry this is expected.

This dish can be served with mashed potatoes and vegetables, on a bed of noodles with stir fried vegetables or on a bed of rice and vegetables.

Tweet us (And other contact details)

is very active online, using the twitter account @ChrisEFMS, giving out lots of great stories and good news, as well as links to our website and menus, nutritional advice and allergen information so that Schools and Parents have all the information they need.

For any information contact: info@eats-catering.co.uk

is part of the Eastern Facilities Management Solutions Ltd. Group www.easternfms.co.uk

This newsletter was designed and printed by EFMS Design & Print 01473 260600