The group’s activities have been expanded to encompass all education catering in schools, higher education and universities. The two new co-chairs are:
- Linda Cregan, food service director at ISS UK & Ireland and long-standing school food campaigner
- Derek Wright, catering services manager at Blackpool Catering Services
Linda said: “Having spent many years campaigning for better food for all children, I am excited to have been invited to become co-chair of this group. ISS has been a long-term supporter of Love British food, and British Food Fortnight has been a regular event in our calendar for several years, and with current challenges like inflation and increased cost of living impacting families around the country, the work of this group has never been more important.
“Our jobs are much wider than serving nutritious and healthy meals — schools, colleges, and universities are at the heart of their local communities and, likewise, our dining halls and restaurants are intrinsic parts of these.
“If, as a group, we can support more caterers and chefs to share their ideas and inspire more educational establishments to champion British, sustainable and seasonal produce, and take part in British Food Fortnight, we can make an impact far beyond the dining hall — we can play a part in enriching the lives of the local families.”
This year the group will host the inaugural ‘Love British Food: Sharing Excellence in Education Catering’, a new online event that will take place during British Food Fortnight. The aim is to reach the hundreds of school chefs to give them the opportunity to learn from the leaders in the sector.
Derek added: “The group has, in the short time since it was set up earlier this year, proved to be a great platform for enabling the very best in our industry to share their knowledge with others. It brings together the most influential people from across the school catering industry.
“As co-chair, my role is to facilitate those on the group to work together to inspire the thousands of talented school chefs and cooks around the country to champion local, sustainable and seasonal produce. This has never been more important.
“Being close to your suppliers is the best way to navigate the supply and price issues facing our industry, while at the same time ensuring we put the most nutritious, delicious food on children’s plates. As chefs and cooks, we know that every great dish starts with quality ingredients and the dishes we produce within schools contribute to improving young people's health and nutrition.”
Some of the ‘most inspirational people’ in education catering sit on the group including Jacquie Blake, Jeanette Orrey, Tony Mulgrew, Jayne Jones, Judith Gregory, Sam Ward, Jason O’Rourke, Lee Taylor and Holly Charnock.
Robinson commented: “Our aim is to give the most influential education catering managers in the country a platform for using their experiences to inspire and enable other catering managers to source the very best British seasonal food available and produce wonderfully nutritious fresh meals in schools and universities. With Linda and Derek, we have the perfect combination of private and public sector experience to achieve this.”
A year-round social media campaign is planned to share knowledge and inspire and enable others using the hashtag #LoveBritishFood.