It is lunchtime at Richard Challoner school, a Catholic thorough for boys in New Malden, south-west London. The familiar odor of school lunch is beginning to waft around the corridors.In the canteen
, there is a minute of calm as the cooking area team make final preparations before year 7 descend– a mass of talking, chuckling boys, with backpacks swinging and empty stomaches grumbling.It all happens
so quick. One minute there’s an orderly queue, the next they’ve made their selection, finished payment and are sitting down– gathered with pals– to consume. The food vanishes and they’re off.In comes the next sitting. Larger boys with larger appetites. Wednesday’s menu consists of a primary meal of sausages (Cumberland pork and Glamorgan vegetarian) plus mashed potato, with caramelised onion gravy, roasted carrots and broccoli.There’s likewise a pasta dish, chicken meatballs in tomato sauce and jacket potato with baked beans. The “grab and go”deal consists of sausage baps, pepperoni panini, cheeseburger and sweet chilli hash brown. There’s no deep fried food, no chocolate bars, crisps or fizzy drinks. There is nevertheless a well-stocked salad bar.Under government strategies, schools will no longer be able to provide’grab and
go’alternatives like sausage rolls and pizza every day and deep fried food will be prohibited totally. Photo: Linda Nylind/The Guardian Dessert remains on the menu though– there’s a luscious display screen of chocolate mousse, banoffee pie,
caramelised banana cake, brownie, marshmallow sponge, summer berry flapjack, iced rolls, cupcakes and double chocolate muffins. Would Henry Dimbleby and Bridget Phillipson authorize? Possibly not, but they look delicious.Earlier today, the education secretary exposed strategies to overhaul school food standards, as part of efforts to lower rates of childhood obesity
. Invited by chefs and campaigners consisting of Jamie Oliver, Emma Thompson and Dimbleby, a previous federal government food tsar, the plan is to cut out food and beverages high in fat, salt and sugar and replace them with more fruit, veggies and wholegrains.Schools will no longer be able to offer”grab and go”choices like sausage rolls and pizza every day and deep fried food will be banned entirely. Sugar-laden cakes and puddings are
likewise under risk, with fruit served for the majority of the week instead.Headmaster Sean Maher bristles a little as I lay out some of the government’s propositions, now subject to a nine-week consultation.”I find that so nanny state-ish. Obviously it’s our task to provide our trainees with as healthy and
healthy a deal as we can. But to state to a 12-year-old, ‘I’m not going to let you have a chocolate brownie after your lovely primary meal’… I indicate, come on!”You put healthy food in front of them, but you’ve also got to let them have play time. Surely they are enabled a little reward also? And these guys, “– he gestures to the cooking area staff–“have also got to generate income. You’ve got to be practical about it.” Until recently the school had been doing its own catering, but expenses went up and the school went out to tender. Now they use a catering firm called Accent. The head chef Daniel Roche enjoys his task, he begins at 6am every morning, but says it’s tough making the amounts add up.Richard Challoner headteacher Sean Maher and chef Daniel Roche. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian “I enjoy the kitchen area,”he states.” I like the banter of the staff and– hopefully– seeing [the pupils’] delighted faces. However if I was to stop whatever tomorrow and only put healthy food out, we would be maimed as a business.”The year sevens, in their first year at Richard Challoner, are still taking pleasure in the option the secondary school’s canteen gives them. Daniel, 12, is munching pizza, followed by flapjack.”I would not state they’re the healthiest, but they are really good. “What if pizza disappeared off the menu as part of the DfE cull?”No pizza?”Daniel shows for a moment as he continues to munch through his piece.”I would be a bit dissatisfied … however there are lots of other advantages.”Theo, also 12, sitting close by, has actually gone with sausage and mash with additional salad, followed by a chocolate cup cake. He feels the federal government cutting back on sugar and cake is “a bit unreasonable. A bit severe “. But, he adds,”I like the reality they are attempting to make it healthier.”Trivin, 11, is consuming a hamburger, alongside Ollie, 12, who has a ham sandwich on white bread, with a cup cake.”I like the cheeseburgers a lot,” says Trivin, in between mouthfuls.”They’re my preferred.”He likewise likes cucumber and sweetcorn. Carrots are too tough and tomatoes too squishy. Catsup is delicious.Trivin believes his school “would go bankrupt”if they dropped cheeseburgers, cakes and pizza. “The entire place! I believe people would snap about that.” Fraser, 16, brandishing 2 pieces of pizza, would be” a bit gutted” if it went off the menu. He doesn’t like brussels sprouts, he’s not big on broccoli, however he simulates a sausage roll.Ethan, 15, says the food at school is delicious and healthy however the part sizes are too little. He thinks they must be allowed a sweet treat every day.”The sugars offer you short term energy to make it through the rest of the day.”” It’s excellent food,”
says Romelle, 16.”It’s nutritious food. It satisfies the needs. “He would like more vegetarian alternatives, however he believes cutting out dessert would make the meals dull.”Sweet deals with bring a little bit of enjoyment– specifically in the lower years. It’s about keeping a balance. “