Celebrating 25 years of school catering

Our Catering Manager, Mrs Caroline Wrightson, reflects on what makes her job so special.

As she receives her 25-years’ service certificate from Gloucestershire County Council, Caroline says her proudest achievement is having maintained five stars on every single environmental and food hygiene visit carried out across her 25 years at The Cotswold School. She is also proud of the people in her kitchen, saying her team – which has grown from four to 11 members – is “the best it’s ever been”.

What led you into this career?

My parents owned a restaurant where I worked. I enjoyed it and decided I wanted to learn more about the business. I trained at Gloucester College of Arts and Technology and took a City and Guilds qualification in General Catering.

What are your cookery principles?

My ethos for providing food in the school is to provide healthy, nutritious, affordable food and encourage pupils to eat it. We prepare and cook everything here on site.

What are the challenges?

Usually (pre-Covid times), the challenges are to predict what pupils want to eat but to create as little waste as possible. As manager, I stay on top of legislation and keep food costs down; follow food standards and health and safety guidelines; and try to encourage children to make healthy choices and try different foods. Our role is also to create interest in food and we’re always looking for ways to improve the canteen.

Currently, we allow only one year-group to eat in an area at any one time. We have handwashing and hand-sanitising facilities in each area and plastic screens at all the till points. The staff wear a different coloured apron when they are doing extra cleaning after each session.

What are the most popular meals?

The dishes that are most popular with our pupils include pasta, panini, baguette, and homemade cakes.

And what’s your favourite meal?

My favourite meal is roast beef with lots of vegetables, and another winner is lemon sole in a prawn and white wine sauce.

What do you love about working here?

I love seeing pupils’ happy faces and seeing how eager they are to tuck in. It’s extra special when they show appreciation for their food, try something new or ask for more. Just getting to know our pupils is lovely.