Coalville Youngsters Tuck into Self Styled School Food

Young masterchefs from Coalville will be tucking into a new range of tasty school lunches which they’ve helped to create.

Pupils from Broom Leys School tested their taste buds and culinary skills by playing a major role in planning Leicestershire County Council’s new primary school menu, which launches across the county on Monday (30th April).

The nutritious fare has been designed around ideas suggested by the children and features dishes such as chicken risotto, quorn dippers, salmon and broccoli tagliatelle and seasonal fresh fruit pancakes.

Youngsters from Thringstone Primary School and Warren Hills Community Primary School in Coalville also helped to plan the food.

The menu includes a meal designed by eight-year-old Matthew Robson from Wigston. The dish – Jamaican reggae chicken and strawberry cheesecake – was chosen following a competition.

Wendy Philp, Leicestershire County Council’s school food support service manager, said: “The children have helped create a brilliant new menu which is fresh, healthy and appetising and I hope it encourages more children to make the change from packed lunches.

“By helping plan the meals, the pupils have increased their knowledge of food and nutrition and can see and taste the results of all their hard work.”

The council’s school food support service provides 22,000 meals to children at 248 schools across Leicestershire every day.

Primary menus are changed twice a year and the council works with children in different parts of the county each time.

Since the council took the meals service back in-house four years ago, there has an increase of 32 per cent in the of pupils choosing school meals.

It aims to encourage all school children in Leicestershire to have a nutritionally balanced diet in the school environment in order to promote healthy development and growth and to give the whole school community support, advice and guidance.

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