News

The kitchen catering team of seven prepare an average of 420 ‘nutritious and creative’ school meals everyday.

Yessica Giminez, date, marketing and finance officer at Cyril Jackson School, said:  “Thanks to our menus running on a two week cycle, our students are able to try new tastes and textures each school day - an idea which parents particularly love!

“Because of this, our students are not only receiving a hot meal when they take a seat in the canteen, but they also receive an education on food outside of the classroom.”

However, the catering team were experiencing ‘significant’ food waste, particularly vegetables.

After the Convotherm mini was introduced Giminez added: “Since installing the Convotherm mini mobile, vegetables are not only cooked to perfection with minimal effort, but look tremendously colourful and appetising! As a result our pupils are enjoying their vegetables more and waste has significantly reduced.”

The Convotherm mini has helped Cyril Jackson School maintain their Food for Life Gold award. To achieve this school must use 15% organic produce, use free-range eggs and serve seasonal fruit & vegetables.

Steve Logan, quality assurance and performance development officer at Tower hamlets council, commented: “The Convotherm Mini is the perfect addition to the South building kitchen. Prior to having the new oven, the catering team at Cyril Jackson were using a steamer that could only cook small batches, meaning staff would have to cook food in up to six lots in order to meet demand.

“These small batches of cooked rice and vegetables would then have to be transferred over to a hot cupboard for long periods of time resulting in poor tastes and textures. However, with the Convotherm Mini, staff are able to cook the same quantity in a single batch.”