Specialist nursery catering companies can justifiably think of themselves as trailblazers when it comes to raising the standard of nursery food.
They aim to win their clients on the basis of offering tailored menus and a responsive service. In straitened times, their food has to offer value for money while being safely prepared and kept warm, and conforming to the nutritional guidelines of the Caroline Walker Trust.
At the Yum-Yum Food Company, director Abigail Simon says that in her experience there are still enormous variations in what nurseries identify as a suitable diet for young children.
'There are some nurseries who only want organic food and have herb and vegetable gardens that the children tend, and there are others I have visited that serve fried salty foods and snacks, and biscuits containing hydrogenated fats.'
Ms Simon thinks she has a role to play in raising standards. 'I started Yum-Yum because I believe in the importance of offering a healthy, balanced diet with food that is well presented,' she says.
Under-fives specialist
Smaller nurseries that do not have big enough kitchen facilities or cooks who can provide the quality or quantity of food they need often find it convenient and cost-effective to use an outside catering company.
Ms Simon says, 'Generally, the size of a nursery and whether it belongs to a chain determine outsourcing versus having an in-house chef. The larger the nursery, the more cost-effective an in-house chef becomes. Kitchen facilities are also a factor.'
Yum-Yum, which has been operating since 2003 and specialises in meals for the under-fives, reports that it has surprisingly little direct competition in terms of other caterers based in London that supply solely to nursery schools.
'There are many local catering companies employed by nursery schools, but they are providing adult meals which have not been specifically designed for under-fives,' says Ms Simon.
The main challenge to deliveries for Yum-Yum is coping with London traffic and roadworks. 'There is a balancing act between the time the food leaves the oven and the time the children will be sitting down to eat it,' says Ms Simon. 'We work well within the legal requirements that food can be kept to temperature, and our meals are transported in temperature-controlled containers.'
Rising to the challenge of offering a truly responsive service involves a variety of issues - changing roll numbers, children's likes and dislikes, multiculturalism, special dietary needs, and cost.
At Early Years Catering, based in Bristol, director Gareth Douglas says, 'We supply food to children from all cultural backgrounds, and we are always looking for new ways to gain hands-on knowledge of traditional cooking techniques as we look to inspire our staff and develop our menus.'
After setting up his company with his partner Hester Dark in 2006, he started supplying three nurseries and built the business up slowly.
'Then we had a massive surge in 2008,' he says. 'We won a contract from Bristol City Council to supply meals to 15 children's centres and we were getting about two nurseries requesting our services a week. We haven't looked back. We will be helping the Government to pilot the new School Food Trust guidelines.'
Mr Douglas says nurseries benefit from his service 'because they get convenience, variety, skilled chefs and a menu that has been signed off by a dietician'.
At Care Catering, based in Surrey, director Dylan Owen says there has always been a pressing need to improve the standards of nursery food.
'Fourteen years ago I was presented with the problem of getting children to eat food that was good for them,' says Mr Owen. 'Long before Jamie Oliver was blowing his trumpet I had already cracked the problem. I have been more fortunate than poor Jamie, though, as the children I serve are younger than the children he serves, and so bad eating patterns have not been established yet.'
Of the fare, he says, 'There may be dishes on our menu like lamb, red lentil and spinach curry, which you may think the children wouldn't really eat. But we have received feedback on all of our food and we have refined it until the children do eat it, or else we have dropped it altogether. For example, with that particular dish, the spinach is frozen, then grated, so it looks like a herb and there are no long and stringy bits to cause the children not to eat it.'
Claire Amsell, deputy manager of Summerfield House Day Nursery in Chobham, Surrey, praises the company's services.
'We have been using Care Catering for nearly four years,' she says. 'We have found it is much more convenient and also safer for us to use a contract catering company. It is a lot easier, as they can cater for all the different diets and any allergies that children may have. The food is very healthy and the children love it. They get to eat a varied balanced diet, which is important for their development.'
Parental demand
Greater awareness among parents of the need for children to have healthy food at nursery is helping to drive business for Kent-based Healthy Roots.
It uses fresh, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, with meals prepared in its Ashford kitchen and delivered to nurseries in thermo-sealed hot boxes. The meals can be left in the boxes until they are ready to be served and plated up. Menus are designed by the company's chef and follow the nutritional guidelines of the Caroline Walker Trust.
Dawn Phelps, who launched Healthy Roots a year ago, says that her service is helping nurseries to give parents the reassurance they need that meals are varied and nutritious.
She says, 'We know that parents are becoming more aware of how important it is that their children eat properly, and they are more pro-active when it comes to asking nursery managers about what their children are being fed at lunchtime. Our ethos is to create new textures, combinations and flavours. It is fun for us to explore new things, and we love to get feedback from nurseries and children.'
Children at Kloisters Kindergarten in Rochester, Kent, have given Healthy Roots food the thumbs-up.
Assistant manager Nikki Bromley says, 'We were glad when Healthy Roots contacted us a couple of months ago. The menu is nutritious and varied, and meals are hand-made and heated fresh every day. The children really enjoy the meals without knowing that they are receiving all the nutrients they need, as the vegetables can be hidden.'
She adds, 'More parents have come on board since we changed from our previous provider to Healthy Roots, so therefore more children are benefiting from well-balanced, healthy meals.'
COST AND QUALITY
Caterers believe they have a very important role to play in encouraging nurseries to invest in high-quality food and offer varied menus that have a broad appeal.
Yum-Yum aims to offer a round-the-world menu. 'Given that we operate in London, most of our nurseries are highly multicultural and that is reflected in our menus,' says Abigail Simon. 'We offer one or two traditional lunches a week, such as shepherd's pie, spaghetti bolognaise, lasagne or macaroni cheese, then a selection of other cuisines for the week. Curries are very popular, as are meat stews. Our ethos is to include everyone, so we have Moroccan tagines with couscous, Thai curries, Indian dhal, African, Turkish and Middle Eastern meat stews, and Asian chicken dishes.'
For caterers, the challenge lies in producing high-quality meals within a price range that is affordable. Ms Simon says, 'We understand there is a ceiling for how much we can charge most nurseries per meal, so the balance is in coping with the constantly rising costs of food and petrol, while offering a meal using fresh, high-quality ingredients. We pride ourselves on being a high-quality nursery meal provider and we don't compromise on our ingredients.'
Further information
- Caroline Walker Trust guidelines www.cwt.org.uk
- The School Food Trust is leading the development of the national voluntary guidelines for food and drink in early years settings. This follows recommendations by the Advisory Panel on Food and Nutrition in the Early Years and the Tickell review of the EYFS. See www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk
SUPPLIERS
- Care Catering www.carecatering.co.uk, 01483 456613
- Early Years Catering www.earlyyearscatering.co.uk, 01179 415 326
- Healthy Roots www.healthyroots.co.uk, 07883 480783
- Little Dish is based in London and is currently trialling its services in a number of nurseries in the capital. The company has 'a strong emphasis on freshly prepared meals, made with 100 per cent natural ingredients and no added salt or sugar,' says Andy O'Brien, sales director. See www.littledish.co.uk, 020 3291 2409
- Yum-Yum Food Company www.yumyumfoodcompany.co.uk, 07799 418 728
- Zebedee's Lunch Box specialises in supplying healthy, nutritious meals to nurseries and schools. It caters for more than 150 nurseries and schools in Kent, Sussex, Essex, Surrey, Hampshire and London. Its hot lunches and desserts are prepared fresh daily. Zebedee's also offers afternoon teas and organic frozen purees for nurseries. See www.zebedees.co.uk, 01323 811307
- Squash Nutrition offers training and nutrition resource packs. www.squashnutrition.org
