A FORMER Army chef who took over at a primary school kitchen has already drilled the staff in hygiene discipline – winning full marks in a recent inspection.
And since Neil Salvage joined Markeaton Primary School as catering manager in February, he has helped introduce a fresh new menu cooked on site, which has proven a hit with pupils.
Youngsters are now enjoying Chinese chow mein, roast dinners, Spanish rice and home-made burgers at lunch times, made with Derbyshire ingredients.
And they are enjoying it in spotless surroundings, as the kitchen was recently awarded five stars in an inspection from Environmental Health.
Mr Salvage, who spent 19 years serving around the world as a military chef, said he and his team spent four hours every morning preparing the fresh food.
He said: “We come in at 8am and work until 12pm. The kitchen used to be a servery, where you get in prepared dinners and heating them up. But we make things fresh from ingredients sourced within five miles. I think we are quite unique in what we do and to get the hygiene review was brilliant.”
Along with the main meals, the school has a salad bar and also provides baguettes, jacket potatoes and fresh fruit. “We do pizzas, chips and burgers but we make them on site with fresh ingredients. We make the burgers ourselves, with fresh beef, for example. “We make sure that each day has a range of food, balanced to strict health guidelines, and we have a varied weekly menu.”
Pupils eat the meals in the school’s new hall and kitchen, which were built between April and December last year, with Government and local authority funding.
Many of the youngsters enjoy the fresh food.
Caspian Mansell, 11, likes the range of dishes. He said “It’s different most days and I like the Chinese food and the rice. “The puddings are good too and the pizza, because it’s made fresh.”
Pupils are also rewarded for polite behaviour by being given a seat at the “golden table” where they are waited on by kitchen staff.
Caspian said: “You get a drink in a wine glass. It’s good because it makes you want to be more polite.”
