Felsted shortlisted for Caterer of the Year

Felsted School have been shortlisted for School Caterer of the Year (Self-Managed) by EDUcatering Magazine. 

The catering team, led by René Hauret, have introduced and overseen many initiatives to further improve the catering experience, including the introduction of different cuisines, the reduction of food waste, and the Felsted Bake Off competition.

The team have contributed to the wide variety of food offered at Felsted which includes a meat and vegetarian hot option, jacket potato and sweet potato station, pasta bar, salad bar, hot and cold desserts and fresh fruit served daily, whilst ensuring that all dietary requirements are catered for. There are also many new initiatives such as ‘International Food Day’, ‘Meat Free Tuesday’’ and ‘Street Food Thursday’ which are very popular among students and staff. Felsted catering team are also committed to using locally grown and environmentally sustainable food where possible.

The food waste initiative involved the catering team working alongside students to plan, monitor and review the food waste produced at Felsted and putting procedures in place to reduce it. This initiative helped reduce Felsted’s food waste by 27.7%.

Felsted Bake Off is now into its fourth successful year, creating healthy competition for all ages to get involved with cooking and baking. As part of this initiative, René created recipes to challenge and interest the teams. The competition also strengthened connections with the local community, with past guest judges including Patisserie Chef, Steve Tittle, from the Wood Tea Room in Felsted, and Emile Galvin, Chef and Front of House Manager at the Galvin Green Man in nearby Howe Street.

Rose Walker, General Services Manager at Felsted School comments; “René and his team’s contributions have strengthened the food service within the school and helped forge even stronger communications between the catering team, students and other Felsted staff.”

The winners will be announced at the EDUcatering Excellence Awards Dinner on Tuesday 8 October at the Royal Garden Hotel in London.