Food at St Bedes

Food at St Bede’s Prep
The catering department at St Bede’s Prep is in the care of a small but dedicated team. It consists of the Catering Manager who runs and oversees the whole operation and he is backed up by two full-time chefs and four full-time catering assistants. Also there are up to six part-time staff who work various shifts. Being a boarding school the department is working every day of the School calendar including weekends. The weekends can be a very busy time for the team in so many different ways; from serving up breakfast and lunch to the children, to catering for match teas in the afternoon where healthy meals are served to the children and a much needed hot cup of tea for the parents. This can often be followed by providing a themed supper for the boarders which, depending on the time of year, could be a barbeque on the beach or a Halloween party.

During the normal working week the day always starts with a cooked breakfast for the boarders four days a week and a continental breakfast on the other three days. This is accompanied by a choice of cereals and yoghurts, toast, jams and a selection of drinks including tea, coffee, milk or milk shakes.

Lunch is always a busy time with over six hundred mouths to feed and some of them on special diets! The lunchtime menu consists of three hot meals of which one is always a vegetarian option and these are accompanied by a selection of potatoes and vegetables. We offer three puddings of which one is always a selection of fresh fruit. On top of this there is a chance to have lunch from the salad bar which we offer three times a week or a freshly made baguette which is available on the other two days. Water is always there for the children at meal times and squash is allowed at lunchtimes.

At supper we offer two hot meals and again one of these choices will be vegetarian. We always provide a selection of freshly made salads or fresh vegetables depending the main meal.

Our catering staff try to cook all the meals fresh on the day and as many fresh vegetables are used as possible. On top of all this the staff manage to conjure up many special theme lunches and suppers throughout the year and these are well supported and enjoyed by the children and staff.