News

  • Catering staff visit Tottenham Hotspur Football Club

    24 July 2024

    On Wednesday 24 July 2024 a group of Catering Staff were invited by Tottenham Hotspur Football Club for a tour of the kitchens and stadium, which included a plant based lunch.

  • Jenny Hammond School receives award

    Wednesday 17 July

    Congratulations to Jenny Hammond School Catering Team who received the Eat Them To Defeat Them Challenge 2024! The team came second and received a silver award, presented by sponsors Tilda Rice.
    The School was also presented with a cheque and certificate.

  • Pizza Plus taster session at Holy Family Walthamstow

    Thursday 11 July

    On Thursday 11 July 2024, Pizza Plus held a taster session at Holy Family Walthamstow. The pupils got to sample a range of wholemeal based pizza’s and calzone’s.

  • Eat Them To Defeat Them Caterers Challenge

    25 June 2024

    Two schools managed by Waltham Forest Catering entered the Eat Them To Defeat Them Caterers Challenge 2024.

    Every year Eat Them to Defeat Them ask school catering teams to lay on the tasty veg and make the veg the hero of lunch and create a perfect opportunity for kids to give them a taste.

    Well done to the Jenny Hammond school who won a Silver award and to Henry Maynard Junior school who won a bronze award.

  • Tottenham Hotspurs come to Willow Brook Primary School

    Thursday 20 June

    On Thursday 20 June, Tottenham Hotspurs Chefs came to Willow Brook Primary School to serve lunch to the children.

    Our chefs put on a delicious spread to celebrate the England game and the Euros 2024!

  • Windrush Day at Waltham Forest Kitchens!

    Thursday 20 June

    On Thursday 20 June 2024, schools across Waltham Forest celebrated Windrush day with a Windrush Themed Menu, which included Jerk Chicken, Mac' n' Cheese, and Potato and Chickpea Curry.

  • Natasha Allergy Research Foundation visit Stoneydown Park Primary

    13 June 2024

    On Wednesday 12 June 2024, The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation visited Stoneydown Park Primary School. The Catering team put on a delicious spread of allergen free meals. Children were very satisfied with their tasters and safe to say shortbread biscuits won the vote!

  • LACA Awards for Excellence

    4 June 2024

    Waltham Forest Catering are finalists for the “Business of the Year” and the “Laca & Natasha Allergy Research Foundation Allergy Management Award”.

    The Laca awards for Excellence recognise teams that have made a “real difference” to school food and education catering.

    The winners will be announced on Thursday 4th July 2024.

  • Farewell to Marie Rider

    8 May 2024

    Waltham Forest Catering said a sad farewell to their longest serving member of staff. Marie Rider who has worked for Waltham Forest Catering for over 35 years, retired on Friday 3 May 2024. Waltham Forest Catering would like to thank her for all her hard work and loyal service over the years and wish her a long and happy retirement.

  • Natasha Allergy Research Foundation comes to Waltham Forest

    Thursday 2 May 2024

    On Wednesday 1 May 2024, Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, from the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation presented to Waltham Forest (WF) Catering cooks in the Town Hall.

    Tanya gave an emotional and powerful presentation about Natasha’s story and praised the staff for creating allergen friendly menus in schools to make children with allergies feel safe and inclusive.
    Read more
  • New Head of WF Catering

    Monday 29 April 2024

    Following a competitive recruitment process, we are pleased to announce our new Head of WF Catering, James Hughes, will join us at the beginning of July from Havering Education Services. Until then Susan Brettle, who is well-known by schools, is interim Head of Service owing to her excellent knowledge and long standing relationships. Christine Cornall, Head of WF Catering, has retired after 35 years of dedicated service to Waltham Forest children and schools. Christine has been an exemplar of public service and under her leadership WF Catering have achieved outstanding recognition in the past few years, which we are incredibly proud of. Most recently placing as finalists in the Public Sector Catering awards 2024 for Best Education Caterer and the announcement by Chris Packham, spokesman for ProVeg UK’s School Plates programme, that we serve the UK’s most climate friendly school meals.

    For schools in our contract, your routes of escalation for all issues remain your Area Manager in the first instance – either Terry James or Sharon Barrett, then Sue who is contactable on Susan.Brettle@walthamforest.gov.uk

    If you would like to have a conversation about how we can deliver delicious, award-winning, climate friendly school meals for your school, don’t hesitate to contact susan.brettle@walthamforest.gov.uk and Natalie.kruger@Walthamforest.gov.uk to arrange a discussion.
    Contact Sue Brettle
  • Leyton Orient Mascot visits the catering team

    22 March 2024

    On Thursday 21 March 2024, The children at Henry Maynard Junior school welcomed Cleo the Leyton Orient Mascot to Lunch as part of the Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign to encourage children to more Vegetables.

  • Pasta King

    Wednesday 20 March 2024

    Waltham Forest Catering have now introduced Pasta King into our Secondary Schools.

  • VegPower visit to Jenny Hammond primary school

    Tuesday 12 March 2024

    VegPower is the award-winning organisation who work to inspire children to love vegetables. They created Eat Them To Defeat Them in 2018, partnered with ITV and the campaign has successfully, with their schools programme encouraged an increase in the volume and variety of vegetables eaten by children.

    On Wednesday 28 February 2024, VegPower visited Jenny Hammond Primary School in Leytonstone. Due to the commitment of Waltham Forest Catering providing healthy and nutritious lunches and encouraging children to eat more vegetables, VegPower selected a school managed by Waltham Forest Catering to host one of their national promotional visits.

    On arrival, the VegPower team set up a green screen and filmed year four and five students “chomping” on vegetables before getting involved with activities and games with year two classes before lunch.

    For lunchtime, the Waltham Forest Catering provided an amazing tasting event with a feast for the eyes and a meal packed with tasty vegetables. Children even got up for a second plate!
    Watch the video
  • Handsworth World Book Day

    Thursday 7 March 2024

    On Thursday 7th March 2024, the Handsworth Catering team dressed up for World Book Day! The menu included children's favourites:

    Hogwarts Pizza
    The Gruffolo's Hotdogs
    Willy Wonka's Chocolate sponge
    Acorn Wood Berry Jelly

  • Jackfruit Talk

    7 March 2024

    On Tuesday 5th March 2024, our Cook Supervisors attended a talk by Adrian Beale on the benefits of the Jackfruit. We learnt that the jackfruit is actually a fruit and comes from the largest tree fruit in the world. It is over 6000 years old and is a rich source of fibre.

  • Public Sector Awards Finalists 2024

    7 March 2024

    Waltham Forest Catering are finalists in the Education Caterer category at the Public Sector Awards. The winner will be announced on Thursday 4th April 2024.

  • Frederick Bremer Taster Day

    Tuesday 5 March 2024

    On Tuesday 5 March 2024, the pupils from Frederick Bremer got to sample some new products from “Strong Roots”. On the taster menu were Pumpkin & Spinach Burgers, Cauli Hash Browns and Pea & Lemon Bites.

  • ProVeg Gold Champions Award

    Thursday 1 February 2024

    On Thursday 1 February 2024, Waltham Forest Catering Service was honoured to receive the Proveg Gold Champions Award.

  • Ministry of Eco Education and Devil's Kitchen Assembly

    31 January 2024

    On Wednesday 31 January 2024, the Ministry of Eco Education and Devil's Kitchen joined Parkside Primary School to give an assembly on climate change having an impact on the planet and how plant based meals can help towards reducing the effect of climate change!

    Assistant Head Teacher, Paul Smith said "Thank you for the two assemblies. The children really enjoyed them and they were really informative!"

  • Eat Them to Defeat Them

    15 January 2024

    From Monday 19 February 2024 through to Friday 29 March 2024, all primary schools managed by Waltham Forest Catering will be taking part in the Eat Them To Defeat Them national campaign.

    Waltham Forest Catering are proud to be supporting this important national event and its schools and kitchens by helping to fund the schools programme. Each school will receive a pack which contains a wall chart and sticker pack for each child to encourage them to try the new recipes/vegetables in school.

  • Chase Lane taster days

    Parent taster days

    The Waltham Forest Catering team held a taster day for parents on Monday 27 November 2023 and Thursday 30 November 2024. The menu included; Jackfruit Pasta Bake; Cajun bean kebabs; Meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce; Hot n Kicking chicken and lemon rice.

  • Christmas Lunch 2023

    School Christmas lunches 2023

    "I heard the Christmas meal yesterday was one of the best ever! Thank you so much". – Coppermill Business Manager

    Our Christmas lunches were a hit with staff and students across schools, which took place in schools from Monday 11 December 2023 to Wednesday 20 December 2023.
    Read more
  • Natasha Allergy Research Foundation visit

    Waltham Forest Catering Service

    On Wednesday 13 July 2023, we had a visit from Nadim and Tanya Laperouse from the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation along with Councilor Kizzy Gardiner.

  • Mayor of London launches Free School Meals at Newport School in Leyton

    Tuesday 5 September 2023

    The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan visited Newport School in Leyton on Tuesday 5 September 2023 to launch the free school meals for all key stage 2 children.
    Watch the video
  • Tottenham chefs spurred our catering team on

    Emmanuel Community School

    Chefs from Tottenham Hotspur paid a special visit to lucky students Emmanuel School in Walthamstow in December to help prepare a delicious, healthy festive lunch- fresh ingredients as standard- before they head back for duty in north London when the season restarts.
    Read Christmas menu here
  • National School Meals Week

    7 - 11 November 2022

    Celebrate with us ways we're making a positive impact on green issues. From Go green lunch – we’ll be providing a plant based menu to a VIP day to roast dinner day using the best of local British produce, reducing food miles. As well as low energy lunch to educate children on reducing food waste, recycling and composting.
    Read more in Parent's Hub
  • Black History Month

    St Ignatius Catholic Primary School

    (L to R Eleni Zacharia, Emmanuel Essandoh, Lydia Adu Twumwaa) Our catering team at St Ignatius Catholic Primary School in Tottenham all looked glorious in celebration of Black History Month. On the menu delicious jerk chicken, mac' and cheese and smokey jackfruit wrap were served, all firm favourites!
    Read more on menus
  • Riverley Primary School

    Trails new plant based menu

    Carmen Bodom-Asensi (right) and Esther Darko cook a delicious vegetarian lunch for Riverley Primary School pupils. The school trailed our new plant-based menu options and pupils got to vote on their tastiest dish to help create the menu to be rolled out to school across the borough this Autumn. Carmen said 'parents can be sure that their little ones are getting plenty of fresh vegetables every day'.
    Read more on menus
  • Live cooking workshop

    Waltham Forest College

    Waltham Forest College hosted a live cooking workshop with Omari McQueen, star of the CBBC ‘What’s Cooking Omari?’ for Waltham Forest Catering staff as our school meals were recognised as the greenest in the UK in the Green School Menu League.
    Read more on menus
  • LACA shortlist nominees

    2022 Awards

    Local Authority Catering Association have announced their shortlisted nominees for 2022 Awards for Excellence. Waltham Forest Catering has been nominated for the LACA Marketing and Green Menu Award and Andrea Moore, Catering Manager at Emmanuelle School is up for LACA Unsung Hero Award. Announcement 7 July 2022.
    Read more about our awards
  • Top of UK Greenest School Menu League for school dinners

    Save the Planet days

    Waltham Forest schools top UK Greenest School Menu League, school dinners in Waltham Forest are the greenest in the UK serving up one million plant-based school meals a year across 50 primary schools. We provide weekly ‘Save the Planet’ days and helped create plant-based dishes such as creamy coconut korma, butternut squash and chickpea tagine, Jamaican patties and planet friendly pizza.
    Read more on menus
  • Hearty congratulations to Andrea Moore

    Thoroughly deserved!

    Andrea Moore Catering Manager at Emmanuel School has been awarded the Unsung Hero Award at the the Public Sector Catering Awards 2022.

    This is a great honour and recognises all the hard work Andrea takes on throughout the year with her creative themed food events.
    Read more on food event ideas
  • Easter Menu 2022

    For Secondary and Primary schools

    For Easter 2022 we have a tasty choice of food. For our Easter menu what's not to enjoy with our choice of honey glazed sticky chicken or cheese and spring onion quiche or our tasty roasted pepper penne? End your lunch with a delicious Easter fruit platter or a chocolate egg cup cake.
    Read more here
  • Vegan Taster event

    Jenny Hammond Primary School and Chapel End Infant School

    For Spring/Summer menu we tested some new vegan dishes. Jenny Hammond chose Pulled Jackfruit Wraps & Chapel End Infant preferred Smokey Jackfruit Jambalaya.

    Deborah Gibbon, Head teacher at Jenny Hammond said: 'Our Eco Warriors were lucky enough to have been chosen to taste new vegan dishes to go on to our weekly menu at lunchtimes. Thank you to WF catering, our favourite was the Jackfruit wraps. Can't wait for them to be on the menu. '
    Find out more about food themed events
  • Eat to Defeat Them 2022

    Pepper Week

    Eat Them To Defeat Them is a campaign from ITV and Veg Power to encourage kids to eat more veg. Each week a different vegetable will be the main star of the lunch menu. In early March Pauline Curran and her catering team from Jenny Hammond Primary School in Leytonstone, peppered up the lunch time service.
    Find out more about healthy eating
  • Eat to Defeat Campaign 2022

    Tomato Week

    Great ideas for Tomato week during the Eat to Defeat Campaign. No 1 from Michelle Brooks at Ainslie Wood Primary School in Chingford. No 2 from Patti Gurinder at Chapel End Infant School in Walthamstow.
    Read more on food themed ideas
  • Eat to Defeat Campaign 2022

    Broccoli Week

    In Broccoli week - who knew broccoli could be so much fun. No 1 from Tracey Bays at Riverly Primary School in Walthamstow, No 2 from Pauline Curran at Jenny Hammond Primary School in Leytonstone and No 3 from Olga Mavunga at Henry Maynard Junior School in Walthamstow.

    Read more about healthy eating
  • Eat to Defeat Them 2022

    Carrot Week

    In Carrot week Patti Gurinder and her catering team from Chapel End Infant School in Walthamstow 'orranged' the carrots in stunning displays. We can't wait to see the great ideas in the upcoming broccoli, tomatoes and peas week!
    Read more on healthy eating
  • Eat to Defeat Them 2022

    Carrot Week

    During the Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign all our primary school catering team took part. Carrots week in late February Andrea Moor and her catering team at Emmanuel School in Walthamstow delivered a delicious crunchy spread to encourage pupils to eat healthily.
    Find our more about healthy eating
  • Climate Friendly Day

    Wednesday 10 November 2021

    As part of Waltham Forest Climate Summit Week our primary schools enjoyed a tasty meat-free menu on Wednesday 10 November. Andrea Moor at Emmanuelle Community School, Walthamstow never fails to deliver an inspirational creative menu!
    More about Summit
  • Vegetable Week

    Emmanuel School

    In October Cook Supervisor, Andrea Moor at Emmanuelle Community School, Walthamstow delivered a great incentive for the children to eat more vegetables.

    Each day was coloured themed from green to orange to yellow to red.
    Click below to get more food themed ideas
    Read more food themed ideas
  • Water Outdoor Poster Competition

    Child Obesity Taskforce

    The competition is being run by the Child Obesity Taskforce, appointed by The Mayor of London to make sure every child in London keeps healthy. Their aim is to get all children and young people across London to only drink water when they’re in school. Get involved and design your own advertising campaign to promote these messages. Entries close on Friday 1 October 2021.
    Read more here
  • Waltham Forest Holiday Activity & Food Programme

    Monday 26 July – Friday 20 August 2021

    WFC is proud to be working with Waltham Forest council who are running a wide range of free activities for children aged 5 to 16 years old who are in receipt of benefit related free school meals (FSM). Further information about all the activities on offer and how to book can be found at the link below.
    Read more here
  • Perfect time for homegrown strawberries!

    Last day of Summer term 2021

    Cook Supervisor, Andrea Moor at Emmanuelle Community School, Walthamstow ended the summer term on a delicious note with school garden homegrown strawberries. Did you know there are 200 seeds on an average strawberry and despite their name, strawberries aren't technically berries—they're accessory fruits?
    Read more about healthy eating
  • UK teenagers are fussier with their food than toddlers

    Recent survey by HelloFresh.

    Food scientist and University of Oxford Professor Charles Spence, said: "Around 13 years old is likely to be when kids are establishing their individual identity and hence food fussiness may be part of that. One of the best ways to like new foods is to build up exposure away from the dinner table."

  • Go green!

    June 2021

    Proud to announce that we've been appointed catering partner with The Hive (formerly Suntrap Forest Centre) an educational environmental centre nestled in Epping Forest. The residential trips are all-inclusive, we'll be serving three freshly prepared vegetarian, healthy meals each day, with plenty of variety available
    Read more about the menu
  • Ready for warmer days!

    Spring/Summer 2021

    We've launched our Spring/Summer menu for primary and secondary schools. Best of all our freshly cooked Gold Standard school lunches provide on average one third of a child’s daily nutritional needs. We have a gluten free, dairy free or vegan menu available upon request.
    Read more about our menus
  • Eggs-cellent Easter ideas!

    Easter 2021

    Our three favourite images capturing Easter themed events at our schools. Thank you to Cook Supervisors for organising this. Andrea Moor, Emmanuelle Community School, Walthamstow (LHS), Polly Khaled, The Winns Primary School, Walthamstow (top RHS), Carole Cromwell, Whitehall Primary School, Chingford
    Read top tips for your own event
  • Free School Meals

    Easter 2021

    Every child in Waltham Forest who's entitled to Free School Meals (FSM) will receive a supermarket voucher worth £30 to use during the Easter Holiday. Currently families of more than 9,000 in the borough are getting the vouchers through their schools or in the post.
    Read more about FSM
  • World Book Day

    March 4 2021

    To welcome back pupils and celebrate World Book Day many of our schools prepared a delicious book themed menu. Cook, Polly Khaled at The Winns Primary School E17 made some grrr-iffic rolls just the right size for 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea'!
    Read the menu here
  • Back to school

    March 8 2021

    Children at Ferry Lane Primary School, London N17 showed their gratitude to Miss Jemmilia, Cook Supervisor. We know how hard our team has worked over this past year and it's wonderful to be recogonised!
    More on school meals
  • Natasha's Law

    Allergen information

    From 1st October 2021, the requirements for prepacked for direct sale food labelling will be changing in England due to ‘Natasha’s Law.’ This is great news as the the new labelling requirements will help protect consumers by providing potentially life-saving allergen information on food packaging.
    Read more on allergen info
  • Chinese New Year

    Year of the Ox 2021

    Food in China represents a social occasion to strengthen friendships. To celebrate Chinese New Year Cook Supervisor Andrea Moor at Emmanuelle Community School in E17 produced an inspirational festive feast. Highlights included lemon sauce and apple fritters.
    Top tips for running events
  • Big thank you

    Round of applause - what a team!

    When we went into national lockdown for the first time in March 2020, the majority of our school kitchens kept open for key workers, serving either a small number of hot lunches or packed lunches. But, as ever, our catering team carried on now in January 2021 still working hard to keep our children fed.
    Meet the team
  • Pandemic response

    January 2021

    Whilst not all schools in Waltham Forest choose WF Catering as their school meals provider, our team have been and are currently providing support and advice to all schools and academies in the borough to access vouchers for the families of children who are eligible for free school meals, rather than issuing food hampers which will be difficult to quality control. ​​​​​​​
    Read more on our response
  • Christmas is coming!

    Countdown for our special lunch

    We're getting ready for the Christmas countdown. We've prepared our Christmas menu - day it'll be served will be up to your child's school. The menu includes roast turkey, spicy chicken or roasted vegetable parcels. We haven't forgotten to include satsumas!
    Read our Xmas menu
  • Saving the planet

    One container at a time!

    Reducing the role plastic plays in our daily activities can have a huge impact on the environment as shrinking our carbon footprint creates cleaner air and natural habitats for wildlife. In support of the council’s Climate Change Strategy, we're working with Newport Primary School in Leyton to trial an eco-lunch box. For our partner schools we plan to roll this out as soon as possible in 2020/21.
    Read more about our menus
  • Soil Association

    Grow Back Better

    We're proud of our gold and silver Food for Life awards and support the Soil Association's ten-point plan titled Grow Back Better, to reinvigorate UK food, farming and land-use post Covid-19. The Grow Back Better report advocates a response to the climate, nature and health crises that is as ‘radical and rapid’ as the response to Covid-19 has been.
    Read more about our awards
  • National School Meals Week

    9 - 13 November 2020

    This year’s National School Meals Week runs from Monday 9th to Friday, November 13th. Throughout the pandemic, our team have been focused on feeding children, including those entitled to free school meals and children of key workers. They're key workers, who deserve to be celebrated during this week.
    Read more about our menus
  • World Food Day

    Friday 16 October 2020

    World Food Day supports collective action across 150 countries and makes this day one of the most celebrated days of the UN calendar.

    Emmanuelle School in Walthamstow always creative, shared with us their photos.
    Food themed events ideas
  • Harvest Festival

    Emmanuel Community School

    At the Autumn equinox when the harvest moon appears the Harvest Festival, a traditional event is celebrated around the world across many different faiths and cultures. Our Cook Supervisor Andrea Moor at Emmanuel Community School in Walthamstow produced a stunning display to remember the successful gathering of the year's crops.
    Top tips for events
  • Autumn 2020 Menu

    Lots of warming meals!

    We all know the benefits to children’s attainment and development, eating a nutritious and balanced diet can make, so we're excited to share with you our Autumn 2020 Menus.
    Our menus
  • Felix Project

    Summer 2020 School Programme

    To support local families during July 2020 at Our Lady and St George School in Walthamstow and at the Joseph's Catholic Infant School in Leyton WF Catering ran the Felix Project School programme.

    Parent Hub
  • Bite Back 2030

    Future budding chefs!

    Research carried out by St Guys and St Thomas’s Charity and Bite Back 2030 found that a third of children & young people said they had been cooking more frequently during lockdown.

    Need inspiration? Visit our menu page.
    Menu ideas
  • Windrush Day

    Monday 22 June 2020

    Windrush Day falls on Monday 22 June 2020, which provides an excellent opportunity for our Cook Supervisor Andrea Moor at Emmanuel Community School in Walthamstow to celebrate this vital chapter in the story of our country's diversity.
    Food themes
  • After COVID-19 Lockdown

    School meals from 1st June 2020

    To deliver the best service we will constantly monitor our provision and adapt to individual school requirements.

    School Meals (FSM) will be in general offered either packed lunch, supermarket voucher or weekly food hamper but at school discretion.

    Please speak directly to your child’s school for explicit advice.
    Our Menus
  • Round of applause for the NHS!

    Emmanuel Community School

    Emmanuel Community School have not forgot to thank all our brave and hardworking keyworkers in the NHS. What better way to celebrate all their commitment than with a healthy rainbow of fruit!
    Our menus
  • Big thank you

    Supporting Waltham Forest residents

    We wanted to say a big thank you to the registered Waltham Forest food banks Eat or Heat, Hornbeam, PL84U Al-Suffah, The Rukhsana Khan Foundation and Al-Fath Trust for the amazing work over the past two months supporting residents who are struggling to get the food they need.

  • What's in season

    Our cauliflowers come straight from Suffolk

    High in vitamin C and a good source of folate and fibre, they have a delicate flavour and textured florets that open up as they cook, allowing spices and sauces to get in. Available all year round, char it and add to salads for some crunch; roast whole or in florets; sear it; or even mash or rice it as a carb-free alternative to potato or rice.
    Read more about healthy eating
  • Child's eye view of COVID-19

    March 2020

    Author James Toop, CEO Backbite 2020 originally wrote this blog for Nutrition Connect on 17/04/20, as part of a blog series on opportunities for building back better food systems and nutrition.
    Read more
  • Food Charities Grant Fund

    £30,000 to £100,000 support

    The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched a grants programme of between £30,000 and £100,000 for organisations to provide immediate support for a limited period of time to help to feed those most vulnerable due to the economic impacts of Covid-19. Relevant organisations are encouraged to apply ASAP.
    Read more
  • Give Peas a chance!

    Emmanuelle Free School

    'Eat them to defeat them' campaign returns in 2020. The award winning campaign with Veg Power encourages children to eat vegetables. Andrea at Emmanuelle is an ins-pea-ration!
    Food themed ideas
  • Chinese New Year free poster!

    28 January 2020

    Speak to your catering team on how you can join in the celebrations.

    Visit our Food themed events page and pick up some top tips on running your day. You'll be able to print off our free poster - just add the day you'll be holding the event!
    Top tips
  • Sustainable and healthy eating

    Understanding diet

    New research published in January 2020 is providing fresh information that can be used to underpin agricultural and trade policies for a sustainable and healthy future for our children. These are exciting findings and make interesting reading.
    Read more
  • Emmanuel Community School

    Christmas lunch

    Our team at Emmanuelle Community School had some great ideas for their Christmas menu.

    Their pomegranate and kiwi Christmas tree was inspired. Our personal favourite was the gingerbread house which was stunning and truly captured the festive spirit!
    Top tips for event
  • St Mary's Primary School

    Christmas testimonial

    'It was fantastic – enjoyed by all …both pupils and adults alike. Wilma, Sherron and Corina excelled themselves. The food was hot and tasty and there was a good variety. It seem to cater for all. The extra help you sent made a huge difference. It enabled us to serve all the children quickly therefore ensuring they had a good run around to burn off the extra calories!!' Philomena Egan, Headteacher
    Top tips for event
  • Public Health Audit

    School food in Waltham Forest

    During the autumn term 2019, Public Health commissioned an audit of school food in randomly selected schools in Waltham Forest. We're pleased to announce that Waltham Forest Catering outperformed the private contractors and in-house providers in both Primary and Secondary provision.
    Read more on the audit
  • BBC Children In Need fundraiser

    Emmanuel Community School

    To get involved with BBC Children In Need our Cook Supervisor Andrea Moor at Emmanuel Community School in Walthamstow produced some tasty Pudsey Bear biscuits. They look so cuddly it must have been a shame to eat the head!
    Top tips for events
  • We're hiring an Area Catering Manager!

    Open Deadline for applications

    Are you an experienced multi-site front-line catering manager with school meals experience? Are you able to lead and motivate a team to deliver excellent quality, freshly cooked school meals and help develop and grow our business? If that sounds like you please apply and join our progressive school meals team.
    Apply today!
  • Catering for the masses

    Waltham Forest Catering College

    In the November 2019 issue of Waltham Forest Echo we enjoyed reading an article from Dr Jim Lewis's new book 'London's Lea Valley: Home of Britain's Growing Food and Drink Industry'. It was about the history of our partner Waltham Forest College with a focus on the college's hospitality and catering facilities.
    Our Services
  • Bonfire night celebrations

    Special menu for 5th November

    We couldn't let Bonfire night go past without some autumn warming food. On the lunch menu we provided bangers and mash, jacket potatoes with cheese or baked beans and a vegetarian chilli and mixed rice. Children were all ready to go out in the cold to watch the fireworks!
    Top tips for event
  • Celebration of Culture

    Throughout October 2019

    To be part of the Celebration of Culture month we were excited to spice up our menu. To recognise the culinary contributions from different countries we provided jerk chicken,vegetable korma, African jollof rice, sweet potato wedges, Jamaican ginger cake and Caribbean pineapple slice. Let us know if you've any suggestions for next year.
    Our menu
  • Special Report into Childhood Obesity

    Released October 2019

    The Chief Medical Officer's (Dame Sally Davies) Special Report into Childhood Obesity has made many great recommendations around advertising, food formulation and the implementation of the school food standards.
    Our comment
  • Black History Month

    Thorpe Hall Primary School

    Carmen Bodom-Asenso, Head Cook and her team at Thorpe Hall Primary School in Walthamstow produced a delicious menu included Jerk chicken, jollof rice and corn on the cob. Click here for some top tips for your own event
    Top tips
  • Edinburgh Primary School

    New look for Autumn 2019

    Recently we worked closely with Edinburgh Primary School in Walthamstow. We're thrilled with the new dining area and hope the refurbishment will encourage healthy eating in a welcoming space.
    School menu
  • Heathcote School and Science College

    New look for Autumn 2019

    Recently we worked closely with Heathcote School in Chingford to revamp their dinning room in readiness for the Autumn term. The results are impressive - we love the grey wooden signage. One pupil said 'This makes me feel like I'm eating in a restaurant'!
    School menu
  • Munch Bunch Club

    Free lunches during 2019 summer!

    Children should be given free meals during the summer holidays to avoid them starving during the seven week break from school, teachers have declared. In 2016 delegates at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers' conference in Liverpool warned poorer pupils could suffer a drop-off in learning as a result of not eating properly during the summer break.
    Our Services
  • Summer Sustenance

    July 2019 Waltham Forest Echo

    Happiness is not having to set the alarm for the next day, but with school holidays just around the corner this time of year can be a tiring and expensive juggling act for some families. In local newspaper, Waltham Forest Echo Helen Bigham explores low-cost options for keeping children happy during the summer holidays she includes our Munch Bunch Club.
    Read more
  • 10 minute shake ups

    Healthy ideas!

    Change4Life and Disney have teamed up again to bring you new Shake Up games inspired by Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 4 and Incredibles 2, and Disney's The Lion King and Frozen. These 10-minute bursts of fun will really get your kids moving and count towards the 60 active minutes they need every day!
    Shake up games
  • 'Healthier diets, healthier weight' plan

    Public Health England 2020-25 strategy

    Exciting news!. The new strategy sets out how Public Health England will work to protect and improve the public’s health and reduce health inequalities over the next five years. There's a commitment to reduce the rates of childhood obesity and to promote and lead on initiatives to reduce sugar and calories in everyday foods.
    Parent Hub
  • Welcome St Ignatius Catholic Primary School

    Tottenham school is our latest partner!

    Warm welcome to St Ignatius Catholic Primary School in Tottenham. In September 2019 the school commissioned us to provide school meals. Our team is committed to support their objective to 'Strive to promote a healthy lifestyle at St Ignatius and aim to provide healthy school meals for our children'.
    School menu
  • Free school dinners are available

    Some parents are missing out

    FREE school dinners are available to more than a million children in England, but some parents are missing out by not applying. In a survey of teachers by the National Education Union (NEU) and Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), 21 per cent believed some kids were missing out.
    Apply for free school meals
  • Autumn/Winter 2019 Menu

    Great selection to choose from!

    We're very excited to launch our menus for Secondary and Primary school. On alternate weeks there's a delicious selection to choose. There's sure to be some firm favourites!
    Our Menus
  • Parent Taster event

    Thorpe Hall primary School

    Thorpe Hall Primary School in Walthamstow provided a wide range of food to give parents a taste of school meals.

    Speak to your Area Manager about arranging an event at your school.

  • What's in Season

    Organic Flour local from Essex

    Our organic flour is milled from pesticide-free grain and grown in soil only fertilized by natural substances. Organic grain develops more robustly, taking in more nutrients from the soil and thereby making the flour healthier and more nutritious.

    We know that everything we make with our organic flour tastes better too!
    Read more about healthy eating
  • What's in Season

    Carrots fresh from Lincolnshire

    Our carrots are available for nearly 12 months of the year, from early to mid June when the new British season starts right through to May.

    Carrots are a particularly good source of beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, and antioxidants. They're a weight-loss-friendly food and lower cholesterol levels.
    Read more about healthy eating
  • Healthy choices

    Yoghurt fresh from Somerset

    We choose Yeo Valley Organic yoghurt as sustainability is central to everything they do. As farmers, they see first-hand the incredible things nature can produce, and how humans can damage it. They put nature first, by playing their part by not controlling nature with chemicals, but working with it to create incredible food.
    Read more about healthy eating

Our News page will keep you up-to-date on local and national topical catering events, news and reports.

If your school has something happening that you'd like to share please contact us and we'll feature you.  For any photos used permission must be given.