Home / Catering

Food for thought

It’s important to eat and drink healthily in order to do well at school. Concentration is essential for learning and a healthy mind and body is essential for physical and emotional wellbeing.

We’re proud of our provision at NGHS and we really do cater for everyone. We have a nut free policy to ensure our pupils aren’t at any risk from allergies. There are always vegetarian and vegan options available, and halal meat too. We provide gluten free alternatives to our breads and cakes and will always try to be sympathetic and accommodating to any food allergies and intolerances.

Our dining hall

 

 

Our dining hall is a bright, contemporary space which is welcoming for students, staff and parents alike. It’s open in the morning between 07:50 – 08:30am and many families enjoy breakfast together before the school and work day begins. We currently have a customer promotion on hot drinks – Buy 6 get 7th free, and our Breakfast 6 deal for parents too.

What a great way to start the day, fueled and ready for whatever lies ahead.

 

 

Students have Meal Deals on offer at lunchtime with lots to choose from, and parents can pre-order a packed lunch for work and enjoy afternoon drinks and hot/cold snacks or afternoon tea with homemade cakes available between 2:30pm – 4:30pm. There’s a great family atmosphere for parents to meet prior to school and at the end of the day. 

 

 

There are also regular drop-in sessions with the Senior Leadership Team here, should parents wish to discuss anything over a cuppa and a pastry. 

First Class catering

The quality of our catering is exceptional. Did you know . . . . .

 

  • We have expert chefs working in our in-house kitchen every day
  • We use local fruit & vegetable suppliers
  • Fresh sushi is delivered twice a week
  • We make our own yoghurt
  • Our coffee is from Balmouth & Co, 70% Arabica & 30% Robusta sustainably sourced, plus Lavazza

Going local

We source 50% of our produce from local sources during the winter months and this increases to 60% by volume during the summer:

  • Carrots/ leeks – Strawsons, Bilsthorpe, Nottinghamshire
  • Potatoes – AB Produce, Leicestershire
  • Broccoli/ cauliflower, red cabbage, white cabbage, Savoy cabbage – Thorold’s, Lincolnshire
  • Strawberries/ raspberries/ blackberries – Starkey’s, Southwell, Nottinghamshire
  • We only use free range eggs from Betty’s farm, Willington, Derbyshire
  • We use a local butcher, Clive Warren, Long Eaton
  • Fresh Pork and lamb is from Staffordshire meatpackers farm shop, Stoke on Trent
  • Beef is from The Forge Market Harborough , Leicestershire
  • Poultry – Ivy House Farm, Derby

Ecologically responsible

 

  • We reduce packaging by re-using cardboard boxes in which the produce is delivered to us, or use returnable plastic food grade crates.
  • We recycle 100% of our cardboard and have a cardboard bailer on site.
  • Where possible, we try to minimise and discourage our suppliers from using single use plastics.
  • All produce offcuts from our prepared division and waste goes to pig feed rather than landfill.
  • Our coffee beans are Fairtrade
  • All of our disposable products are compostable items
  • Veolia compost all of our disposables within nine weeks of dropping them in the litter bin.

Something special

As well as providing our staff and pupils with delicious, nutritious meals on a daily basis, our expert and dedicated catering team are always on hand for those extra special occasions. Alumnae reunion events and parties, celebration evenings and meetings – this is when they really shine. Our catering at such events is always highly praised and commented on; it’s what sets us apart and we’re incredibly proud of it.

Our team

Of course none of this would be possible without our amazing team of catering staff to whom we are eternally grateful. Not only do they work incredibly hard but they are also a fun and friendly bunch with whom the students and parents love to chat. When alumnae come back to visit the school they always want to pop into the Dining Hall to see their old friends and catch up.

We can’t thank them enough for what they do, but we do try to spoil them from time to time.

Keep up the excellent work. We really do appreciate it and it’s part of what makes NGHS so extraordinary.