School caterer Cucina raises £2,000 for charity

Cucina, which serves fresh food to more than 25,000 pupils at 30 contracts up and down the country, has adopted Children In Need as its chosen charity. Cucina baked and sold cookies to pupils, teachers and parents at its restaurants all week, with a donation from every cookie sold going to Children In Need, as well as holding raffles, selling teddy bears and even offering Cucina's top chefs to cook meals at parents' homes for the highest bidder. Operator Tony Ridgwell, who is based at The Basildon Academies in Essex, said: "We believe the idea of children giving to other children is a great reminder to pupils that there are others less fortunate than themselves. We are delighted that we have managed to raise £2,000 for Children in Need; this is made up of £1,000 raised in our restaurants which Cucina has matched. "Since a lot of the money came from selling cookies, we thought presenting our donation as a giant cheque shaped cookie decorated by our chefs was perfect! We wanted to offer Children In Need this giant cookie as an additional gift to see whether further funds can be raised by selling it." Everything is made from scratch in Cucina's kitchens, from homemade breads, fresh soups, homemade yoghurts, sandwiches and salads to fresh pizzas baked in professional pizza ovens. Cucina even makes their own tomato ketchup and mango chutney.