Catering Matters

21/05/2026

Good Morning,

Doncaster Remake Learning, have a mission – Mission: ‘365 Penguins’, a Maths through Stories event, which will take place next week during half term, led by the National Literacy Trust in Doncaster in partnership with RWM Doncaster.

Making 365 penguins is a very tall order so we need as many people to come along as possible – so if you’re in the area, why not come along and make a penguin! We’ll naturally be interspersing lots of penguin related mathematical facts too!

The ‘mission’ will be launched at Windhill School in Mexborough this morning (21.05.26) where we will be sharing the brilliant story with the children and their parents, and then get everyone involved in penguin making!

It will be great fun – so please come along to one of the sessions if you can – and please spread the word!

Please see the flyer

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Mission: 365 Penguins! A ‘Maths Through Stories’ Challenge
Join us for a fun, free, hands-on family challenge inspired by the picture book '365 Penguins', where we’ll build a penguin-filled display together while exploring maths through stories, creativity, and play - and work as a team to reach our goal of 365 penguins!

Bentley My Place, Wed 27th May, 10am – 2pm (book on eventbrite: Mission: 365 Penguins! A 'Maths Through Stories' Challenge Tickets, Wednesday, May 27 • 10 AM - 2 PM )
Mexborough High Street, Fri 29th May, 10:30am – 2:30pm (drop in on the day)

20/05/2026

This week we brought our cooks together not only to distribute our fantastic promotional packs for the upcoming academic year, but also to showcase an exciting range of hybrid and plant-based dishes created using products from Eat Curious

Liam from Eat Curious served up an incredible selection including chilli, bolognaise, korma, cottage pie, kale stew, coronation chicken wraps, and completely wowed the chefs with his protein-boosting flapjack, muffins, and coconut balls!

The focus throughout was on sustainability, nutrition, and cost savings — without compromising on flavour. The feedback from our cooks has been fantastic, and we can’t wait to share what’s coming next.

A huge thank you to everyone who attended and an extra special thank you to Eat Curious for the inspiration, support, and amazing food.

All of the sample packs were snapped up quickly, so don’t forget to share what you’re creating with them — we’d love to see your dishes and ideas!

Watch this space for our upcoming menu

11/05/2026

Today, whilst relaxing on my sun bed in Malta, I finally had the chance to properly read through the proposed new school food standards and submit my response to the consultation.

As many of you working in school catering will know, this is a huge topic for our industry. We provide around 190 meals a year for every child, balancing nutrition, budgets, staffing, food waste, and most importantly making sure children actually choose school meals.

My personal concern is that some of the proposed changes could reduce meal uptake and push even more school caterers into financial risk.

What I struggle to understand is why school meals continue to face tighter restrictions whilst packed lunches are not being measured against the same standards. If we genuinely want to improve children’s nutrition, surely the approach has to be fair and consistent for everyone.

I’d really encourage everybody involved in education, catering, or parenting to take the time to read the consultation and share your views before it closes. It’s important our sector has a strong voice in this conversation.

Consultation link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/school-food-standards-updating-the-legislative-framework

Please share this post so we can encourage as many responses as possible.

Seeking views on updating the School Food Standards, so that every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.

30/04/2026

🎉 Huge congratulations to Joaquin Munoz from Doncaster Council! 🎉

We’re incredibly proud to see Joaquin representing Doncaster in the Grab ‘N’ Go Cook Off finals on 19th May 👏

His dish — “Paella on the Move: The Chorizo Free Fiesta” — is a fantastic showcase of creativity, flavour, and modern school food innovation 🌟

Being selected as one of just nine chefs is an outstanding achievement, and it highlights the passion and talent Joaquin brings to school catering every day.

We can’t wait to see him in action at the cook-off — best of luck, Joaquin, we’re all rooting for you! 💪🔥

20/03/2026

A huge THANK YOU to our amazing catering teams for getting into the spirit of Red Nose Day! ❤️

We love to see your brilliant crazy faces – they definitely brought smiles – and those delicious biscuits looked absolutely fantastic too 🍪😄

Your effort, creativity and enthusiasm really helped make the day special while supporting such a great cause. Well done.

19/03/2026

Good luck, Kaylee! 🍀Kaylee Wragg

We’re all so proud of you representing Doncaster in the School Chef of the Year regional finals tomorrow. Your hard work, creativity, and passion for cooking inspire us every day.

Wishing you the very best — cook with confidence and enjoy every moment. We’re all cheering you on! 👩‍🍳

12/03/2026

🌟 One Week To Go! 🌟

In just one week, our talented chef Kaylee Wragg from Richmond Hill in Doncaster will be competing in the SCOTY Regional Final in Leeds! 👩‍🍳

Kaylee will be showcasing her creative “Yorkshire Meets the Caribbean” themed lunch:

🌯 Jerkshire Wrap – jerk jackfruit in a Yorkshire pudding wrap, served with tropical salsa and coconut beans with rice.

🍍 Caribbean Sun, Yorkshire Soul – a layered trifle bursting with tropical Caribbean flavours.

We are incredibly proud of Kaylee’s creativity, passion and hard work.

Good luck Kaylee – we’re all behind you! 🎉

👇 *Drop Kaylee a good luck message in the comments!

04/03/2026

🍰 Doncaster Schools Catering Chefs Show Their Skills in Baking Competition! 🍒

Eight talented school catering chefs from across Doncaster showcased their creativity at the grand final of a dessert competition held at McAuley School on 2nd March.

Each recipe had to meet National Standards for nutrition and costings while also being unique, delicious, and appealing to pupils — no easy task! The winning recipes will be featured in a recipe book published by one of the suppliers at The School Food People main conference and exhibition in Birmingham, taking place 7th–9th July 2026.

Amanda Cawkwell, Area Catering Manager for The City of Doncaster Council, said:
“This was a great opportunity for our hard-working chefs to demonstrate their creativity and baking skills with the potential of winning a prize. The recipes created by our team were superb and we are proud to have such imaginative chefs in Doncaster’s schools.”

After a detailed recipe check, finalists had just 1.5 hours to bake and present their creations to the judges. The standard was incredibly high, but the top three were unanimously chosen:

🥇 1st Place: Mandi Phillips (Mobile Chef) – Rhubarb and Custard Traybake
🥈 2nd Place: Emma Padfield (Mobile Chef) – Plum Upside Down Cake
🥉 3rd Place: Rachel Woods, Chef at Ivanhoe Primary School in Conisbrough – Cherry and Coconut Brownie

It’s hoped all three delicious creations will soon feature on school menus across Doncaster, as well as in the competition sponsor’s recipe book.

A huge congratulations to all involved — a fantastic celebration of skill, creativity, and dedication to providing quality school meals! 👏

19/02/2026

🎉🍰 Excitement is building across Doncaster Council Schools Catering! 🍰🎉

Our Internal Bake Off finalists have been shortlisted and the practice sessions are in full swing ahead of the Grand Final on Monday 2nd March!

A big thank you to our sponsor Royalsmilde for supporting this brilliant event. Three winners will each receive a cash voucher – and, of course, some serious bragging rights! 🏆👏

The challenge for our talented team:
🧁 Use BEBO margarine (supporting natural sugar reduction in recipes)
📚 Keep it fully school compliant
💰 Cost it at under 25p per portion

The competition is fierce… and the prize is even sweeter! The winning bakes will feature in a recipe book AND on the next new school menu!

Who will be crowned champion? We’re so proud of everyone taking part – good luck to all our finalists! 💙

16/02/2026

How could we NOT include these amazing shots in our Valentine’s post? 💕