Caterers throw down challenge to Oliver after school meals jibe
School caterers have challenged celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to get involved with school meals after he blasted schools catering for being "outsourced to businesses which have to make a profit… so they end up being made of rubbish".
Oliver, in an interview with BBC Good Food magazine, went further by saying: "And then they complain about kids being hyperactive, not being able to concentrate. It doesn't have to be like that. The actual food children eat in school is terrible.
"I'm planning to get more political. I hope to make a lot of noise. I'd like to be involved with kids and cooking."
Sue Kilbey, chairman of the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA), has written to Oliver to point out that he was "obviously unfamiliar" with how the school meals system worked.
Over the past few years, LACA had worked with renowned chefs such as Steve Love and Steven Saunders to improve school meals, said Kilbey. "Schools are constantly rising to the challenge of catering for different tastes and a range of diets, from halal to dietary problems.
"We've pointed out that a lot of good things have been going on in school meals and we've asked him to get involved."
Oliver's attack followed a survey by Cardiff University which found that the average cost of the ingredients in a school meal was 32p (10p less than is spent on prisoners). "Somebody really needs to do something about food teaching in schools," he said.
Kilbey said she was happy to put Oliver to the test. "We support his views that cooking should be put back on the agenda and we've challenged him to come and see if he can contribute. He made similar comments a few years ago and didn't respond to letters from the previous chairman."
The challenge was echoed by Russell Scandrett, operations manager at Catering Alliance, which has several school contracts in Cumbria. "We have spent time finding out what young people want," he said. "I feel Jamie's comments are disrespectful of the dedication people have for providing school meals."
Kilbey added: "Food in schools is from the same suppliers as Sainsbury's, where parents shop - and which [Oliver] promotes - although obviously schools buy larger quantities."
\* School caterers in Scotland could be forced to ration chips to twice a week as part of the Scottish Parliament's Healthy Eating campaign. A panel of school meals experts has already submitted its proposals and the Scottish Executive is due to respond in the next few weeks.
Who is responsible for school dinners?
\* Secondary schools usually put contracts out to tender so they could be won by in-house or private caterers. The chosen caterer will have submitted a food cost at tender stage and this is rarely adjusted by the school.
\* Schools expect a payback for awarding a contract, so there are few subsidies. Usually a percentage of turnover is paid back to the school and this doesn't have to be pumped back into the catering. "If it was, this would improve catering," said Kilbey of LACA. "With the delegation of budgets, school governors decide the policy and what they want from the caterer."
\* Primary schools are more likely to decide to delegate catering back to the local authority because they are smaller.
\* Schools have a duty to provide free school meals to children who qualify.
By Rosalind Mullen
