A: Blessed Hugh Farringdon is a mixed Roman Catholic secondary school with more than 900 pupils, aged between 11 and 18. Some travel from 20 or 30 miles away to get to the school as it's the only Catholic one in the area. We feed many of the teachers at the school too.
Q: What sort of service do you provide?
A: Because many of the children travel quite a long distance to get to school, they're hungry when they arrive, so we run a breakfast service between 8.15am and 8.35am. We offer bacon rolls, hash browns, cereals, yoghurt, biscuits, hot chocolate and fruit juices. Then, from 11am to 11.15am we serve around 300 pupils with snacks such as hot sausage rolls, mini pizzas, bacon rolls and cakes. Lunch is between 12.15pm and 12.55pm and more than 50 per cent of the pupils come into the dining room and take up our service. We offer a range of options: a traditional meal, such as lamb hotpot, a vegetarian meal, such as vegetable lasagne, burgers and hot dogs with chips, salads, sandwiches and baguettes. We also offer a hot pudding and cakes and biscuits too.
Q: What's the most popular option with the kids?
A: I've got to admit, it's the burgers that are our top seller. And the children love hot puddings too — we know if we do chocolate pudding with hot chocolate sauce it'll go down really well with them.
Q: Do you notice a difference between what the boys and girls choose?
A: Yes. More of the girls tend to go for healthier options, such as sandwiches or the pots of salad.
Q: How much does it cost to eat at the school?
A: A traditional meal and pudding together cost £1.35, a bacon roll is 70p, a burger 60p, a pizza 60p and a pot of salad is £1.
Q: Is this an in-house operation?
A: No, it's run by Initial Catering Services. We've held the contract since 1993 — that's when I first came here.
Q: What sort of contract is it?
A: It's cost-plus. (That means the contract caterer bills the organisation employing it for staff salaries and all the food purchases it makes and then charges a management fee on top.) The annual turnover is £85,000.
Source
The Facilities Business
