Cucina's director of food Sam Davies, an ardent fan of The Great British Menu, said she was delighted to welcome Howard to one of her company's kitchens.
"Phil is possibly my all-time favourite chef. To have him here and to be able to show him the standard of school food we produce at Cucina was fantastic.
“We're very excited by the future prospect of Phil working with our already brilliant team of chefs."
The first part of the visit was spent with Teddington School head chef Phil Wilkins and Cucina's executive chef Ian Morgan, with both chefs demonstrating Cucina's model for producing quality restaurant-standard food from scratch each day.
After experiencing the lunch service first-hand, Howard spent time with Davies and her fellow director and managing director Steve Quinn, exploring how he might work with the company's guild of chefs in the future.
Quinn said: "Phil Howard is an absolute industry icon, having held 2 Michelin stars for the past 14 years - an amazing achievement, making him a legend for most chefs. Phil was so impressed by our food that he is returning to see us soon, to discuss ways that he and our chefs can work together.
"We're all quite open about that at the moment. We have spoken with Phil about the possibility of creating a new range for us, in the same way that Ash Mair, reigning Professional Masterchef Champion has done.
“We have also discussed our chefs working with Phil in his kitchen at 'The Square' However we do it, I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be working with Phil in taking our already impressive food offering to another level again."
Howard added: "How refreshing to come across a team of people whose motives and ideas are so inspirational and to see them implement them so well."