It’s been a busy time in catering these last few weeks…
We are delighted to launch our new Primary School Spring/Summer Menu which starts after Easter and really hope our young customers enjoy our varied dishes using local and seasonal ingredients where possible. Following parent survey feedback, we have refreshed a couple of Monday and Friday options to provide more variety. Some new dishes to look out for are sweet and sour chicken with noodles, sausage pastry pinwheel, cheese and tomato pizza swirl, carrot cake and blueberry cupcake! Following on from our award-winning FLOURISH pledge about involving children in our menu development process, we have been able to trial and perfect our new recipe ideas with children and student councils.
Our new Care Menu starts at the end of April. Following resident engagement, we are pleased to include some requests on the menu and some delicious new dishes including; sausage and tomato pastry plait, stuffed field mushrooms, cheese and onion pastry pinwheel, lasagne with garlic bread, fruit meringue nest with cream, cherry sponge with custard and prawn salad on the Tea Menu (which is the most requested dish from the feedback forms!).
In Primary Schools we recently ran a ‘Tell us a Joke’ competition inviting children to tell us their favourite food-themed jokes. We certainly had lots of laughs when it came to judging them!
Well done to all our winners from a selection of Norfolk Schools who will each receive a book voucher and, of course, a joke book! It’s more than the meal on the plate, we love to engage with our young customers and have a bit of fun too!
Over the last year we have been working closely with the Food Museum in Stowmarket for their brand new School Dinners exhibition. We have donated historical recipes, menus and equipment as well as more modern examples of school meals including our picture menus, new uniform and ‘day in the life’ accounts from some of our team members. The exhibition lovingly explores the history of school meals and how they have shaped our culture. It really is worth a visit, and you can also enjoy a nostalgic school meal whilst there!
Finally, we are thrilled to announce we have been shortlisted for the Care Catering Award at the Public Sector Catering Awards 2025. This recognition comes from our innovative project ‘Food Glorious Food’. The initiative is designed to elevate the dining experience for our residents in care, making food and drink accessible to all. With a particular focus on supporting residents with eating, drinking, and swallowing (EDS) difficulties, we’ve worked to transform their plates into visually appealing and appetising meals. This nomination is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our Catering and Care teams, who are committed to enhancing the quality of life for the communities we serve.
Until next time,
Norse Group’s Catering Team
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