Following the redesign, for the four months September-December 2024, the school has reported a consistent 98% uptake on free school meals and 76% uptake on paid school meals, far above average.
Serving over 1,000 pupils, aged between 11-18 years old every day, Dolce’s offering at Hawarden’s newly designed food court offers students a diverse culinary experience across four zones. Each zone features its own custom menu, offering global flavours, on-trend dishes and meals tailored to a wide range of tastes.
The four zones include:
- Street Kitchen: offers street-style live cooking, with dishes including Gaeng Daeng Red Thai Pork with Noodles, Kashmiri Vegetable, Chickpea & Spinach Biryani, Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki & Crisp Salad and Katsu Curry with Crispy Chicken or Quorn and Spring Onion Rice.
- Casa Brasilia: brings Brazilian-inspired dishes to the menu, with wings a feature on the menu every day – marinated in different sauces including Jerk, Sweet Chilli, Garlic & Lemon and Tikka.
- Italian Kitchen: offers Italian fare, including hand-stretched pizzas, offering classic favourites such as Pepperoni, Three Cheese Margherita, and Roast Vegetable Calzone, as well as a chef’s special pizza every day.
- The Toast Office: offers a selection of toasties, oozing with tasty flavours such as Chicken Tikka Melt, Roasted Pepper & Halloumi, Pepperoni and Roast Onion, and Tomato, Mozzarella and Pesto.
Scott Curtis, managing director of Dolce, said: “We started offering our fit-out service in 2019, and Hawarden is the first high school we’ve transformed in Wales, so this represents a milestone for us.
“Unlike other caterers, who usually always have to outsource their design service as they don’t have the expertise in-house, we have our own dedicated team, meaning we not only offer unrivalled expertise but also a more affordable redesign option for schools. Secondary school pupils are seeking food experiences similar to what they see on the high street and social media, and how a brand looks plays a big role in the purchasing decision.
“We make dining areas vivid, exciting, well-designed spaces – with the added benefit that the food offering itself is backed up by our team of chefs, who have created menus based around fresh ingredients, packed full of taste and nutrients. Schools can come to us and get their whole catering offering managed – from the food to the design – under one roof.”
Dolce works with over 650 primary and secondary schools across England and Wales, providing 125,000 meals for pupils every day.
A pupil at Hawarden School, added: “I really like all the different areas and being able to try different foods from around the world. The food is really tasty and much better than what we used to have. It gets very busy at lunchtime but the queues move quickly so it doesn’t take that long at all.”