It’s been a whirlwind start to 2017 in the kitchen.
New challenges so far this year have been:
- More mouths to feed (both staff and students)
- Daily morning tea preparation and drop-offs for primary students
- An extra lunch sitting to cope with the larger numbers
- Less preparation time due to the earlier sitting
However, we are going strong and thankfully we have Kim, the mother of one of our students and part-time kitchen hand to help us out daily.
One change of thinking we’ve had this year is not trying to make the students (mostly the little ones) take the hot food if they don’t really want it. Believe me, we WANT them to take it, but unfortunately 9 times out of 10 this leads to them trying to dispose of it in such a way that we don’t notice.
But we do … and it’s upsetting to see food that could be going towards seconds (and thirds or fourths for some) for our other hungry mouths, go into the bins. So instead we now politely encourage them to try, which sometimes works. Ultimately though the decision lies with them and we don’t want to make the Cafe an unpleasant experience.
I’m not concerned though. Our older students don’t seem to mind what colour their food is, they just happily eat it. I’m sure over the years as the younger ones grow and learn about nutrition most of them will have a paradigm shift. I know my little boy would try and survive on vegemite sandwiches and chocolates if we let him (we don’t, by the way).
So if your child comes home ravenously hungry and doesn’t seem to remember what they had for lunch other than a few rice crackers, please know that we have a huge buffet and lovingly prepared hot meals daily. We will not give up, and know that one day they will (hopefully) come around!
Michelle says
Thank you for feeding our kids with an amazing selection of healthy, nutritious selections!
What time is the cafe open for breakfast in the mornings please?
Scott Wilson says
No problems Michelle!
Breakfast starts at 8am and finishes up around 9:15 when the students head off to roll call.
We hope to see you soon for a coffee or some bacon and eggs!
Helen says
My son looooves the food, every afternoon, it ‘s the first thing he tells me what he had. He is having seconds, some days even thirds… he loves the variety and especially the salad bar.
Great job to all the staff in the kitchen, a very hard and sometimes unrewarding job, but know that there are some that truly appreciate everything you do!!!
Scott Wilson says
Thankyou Helen!
It is actually quite rewarding, we do have quite a few come up and thank us almost daily for lunch. We know we’ve done ok on the days when there’s nothing left and everyone’s had plenty to eat!