nursery catering

[thevillagenursery]

Hi

does anyone have outside caterers in for nursery school meals. We would like to provide hot meals for lunch time but can't afford to hire a cook/chef. We are in the Oxfordshire area but don't seem able to find anyone who offers this service. What does everybody else do? If you are open 8-6 do they bring packed lunches in for lunch and afternoon tea. Please help

Edited May 4, 2014 by thevillagenursery

[Stargrower]

We use the local primary school. We phone the lunch numbers through on a Monday morning (but can add or cancel each day if we need to - and we often do!). A member of staff goes by car to collect them in a big insulated box containing the food in tins. We then serve them and wash up. We take the box back with all the tins the next day when we pick that day's lunches up. We are charged the same as the school children by the LA (£2.20 per two course meal) and charge our parents an extra 10p per meal to cover the cost of collecting / serving / washing up etc.

We are a day nursery, open 8 - 6 and have been doing this for 10 years. It works well for us. We provide breakfast and tea ourselves.

[woodlands1997]

We are open 8-6 too. A member of staff cooks lunch and tea, we just sort staffing accordingly for the time it takes! But then we are never bang on ratios always have a member of staff over what is legally required so it's possible for us. Teas never really require too much cooking either jacket potatoes, egg/ beans on toast, sandwiches, salad bits, pizza etc. We don't have anyone bringing in food from home x

[Bee21]

We use an outside caterer - I'm in Lincolnshire and there are several suppliers to schools, they don't like providing for nurseries though as we're open in the school holidays. We have just been let down by one company, as they are just going to do schools.

They provide us with a cooked lunch and pudding, which arrives in 'hot boxes', we then do our own breakfast and tea.

[laura]

I know one setting that used to collect the meals from a local pub! worth a try maybe?

[Guest]

Not sure if this is still relevant to you but it might be to someone else.

There is a company called zebedees lunch box and I know they deliver to cambridge, so that might be an option?