Trafford Council’s school kitchen heroes are having their busiest few days of the year, preparing huge numbers of Christmas dinners for the children of our borough.
The Council’s inhouse school catering service is the third largest outside of London and will serve up 900kg of turkey, alongside vegetarian and halal options.
Hungry pupils will also wolf down over three tonnes of carrot batons, five tonnes of peeled potatoes, 1.75 tonnes of sprouts and 200kg of stuffing, before moving on to pudding.
Mass catering is a serious operation in Trafford, employing 297 permanent employees supported by 69 casual staff rustling up as many as 15,000 meals every school day.
Among those dedicated ranks are 48 cooks, 196 catering assistants and 63 supervisors working 6,545 hours per week. Many are long servers with 20 years or more history within the service.
Alongside 66 primary schools, Council caterers serve lunches at six high schools in Trafford. Quantities of food required include six tonnes of baked beans per annum!
Children consume 30% of their calories at school and catered meals are significantly more nutritious than an average packed lunch.
Cook supervisor Christine Fitzpatrick and cook Sinder Kaur have worked together at St Theresa’s RC Primary School in Stretford for nine years.
Christmas dinner is a highlight of the year, with a Quorn fillet option for non-meat eaters alongside turkey, chipolatas, roast and mashed potatoes, stuffing, peas, carrots, sprouts and gravy.
A helping of sprouts is optional – many children don’t like them! - and the main course is followed by strawberry and vanilla Christmas ice cream.
Christine said: “It’s great to see the children so giddy in their Christmas jumpers and party hats, really enjoying their food. We’re a small school so I know every child’s name and what they like to eat.”
On an ordinary school day, the most popular foods at St Theresa’s are curries, home-made sausage rolls, spaghetti bolognaise and jacket potatoes.
Cllr Stephen Adshead, Catering Portfolio Lead at Trafford Council, said:
“Our school caterers work so hard all year round to bring delicious, nutritious food to all our children.
“Then, as workers in many jobs start to wind down for Christmas, they have their biggest challenge of the year – a slap-up and memorable festive lunch for all! We thank them for their skill and dedication.”
Cllr Karina Carter, Executive Member for Children and Young People, said:
“It’s so important for children to receive healthy and nutritious school meals and the excitement of this special occasion in the school calendar is great to see.”