WHENEVER my mind is cast back to my early school days it does not take long before I reach the thought of the vast array of frozen foods on offer in the dinner hall.


A selection of potato smiley faces, dinosaur-shaped chicken, and the dreaded turkey twizzlers made up the menu on most days.


But as unappetising as it sounds, at the time I was quite happy with the lunch-time ‘junk food’ as Jamie Oliver described it.


The dinner hall was an obstacle that had to be passed before going outside to play, so the quicker food could be eaten, the better.


So I was somewhat intrigued to hear that a new menu, chosen by the pupils themselves, is now being served in all schools around Cheshire.


Primary school pupils from around the borough filled out an online questionnaire to request their favourite meals and what they came up with would not look out of place in a high-end restaurant.


The four new menus chosen by the youngsters are Cheshire Favourites, Best of British, Celebrating World Food and Experience the Taste.

 

Highlights include braised beef, vinegar flushed goujons and pulled pork.


I visited Antrobus St Mark’s primary school to test out the new menu and see what the children think of the new meals.


I arrived around 30 minutes before lunch time and headed for the kitchen to speak to the school cook, Katrina Sutherland, as she went through the daily lunch-time preparations.


Katrina is the only cook at the school and although it is one of the smallest primary schools in the mid-Cheshire area, she has to feed around 60 mouths every day and is now taking on the new menus alone.


“With the new menu it is a lot of cooking when I have to do it on my own,” Katrina said.

 

“The menu is healthier but I think sometimes it can be too healthy because they just won’t eat it.



One-by-one and getting progressively taller, the children approached the dinner hatch and told Katrina what they had chosen.

 

After all of the pupils had filled their trays and taken their places among the new tables and chairs, I was given my gammon roast dinner and sponge and custard dessert.


I took my roast dinner and, struggling to get my knees under the miniature-sized table, sat down opposite Nathaniel Westwell, David Elliott, and Alastair Newby, who are all nine.


As I went to take my first mouthful, Alastair confidently remarked, “I think you’ll enjoy it.”


The trio went on to tell me all about their new school meals and how they compare to previous years.


“It’s a lot better than last year,” David said. “Some stuff got repeated quite a lot and this time it’s more varied."


Nathaniel said: “A lot of children had packed lunches but now there’s more having school dinners.”


The roast was made up of gammon, roast potatoes, stuffing, carrots, mange touts and gravy, and it was obvious why the packed lunch kids were quickly converting to school meals.


“The children chose their own menus online and their parents helped them choose what they want,” said head teacher Joanne Hawkins.


“This new menu allows for there to be two options for the children which is really important and nutritionally it is the right food.”


So school meals in mid-Cheshire are no longer what they used to be and now children get to tuck into their favourites every day.


But I still ate my pudding alone as my new friends ran outside to enjoy a game of football.