Demands placed on school kitchens have changed dramatically over the years but the kitchen and its equipment has often remained virtually unchanged for decades. At the John Henry Newman Secondary Modern School in Stevenage they have been implementing a move to healthier school meals for the last 3 years, well before Jamie Oliver made it a national issue, from the limited resources of a kitchen designed in the Beatles era. Now with a little help from Bettaquip the school has facilities to match its ambitions.
The school was built in 1967 with a dining room designed to meet the needs of around 700 pupils serviced by a typical 1960’s school kitchen laid out to match the menu of those times. Today the popularity of the school means that the dining facilities have to meet the daily needs of 1350 pupils, with over 900 regularly taking lunch. With a large catchment area, the school day has traditionally started with breakfast for the early arrivals, putting further pressure on the kitchen and its staff.
Bettaquip was given the challenge to create a new dining experience better suited to today’s requirements. Working within the existing space, Bettaquip created a more compact, efficient kitchen better matched to today’s menu needs and a healthier, more satisfying working environment for the staff that now meets current health and safety guidelines. Equipment was updated and positioned for a more ergonomic workflow.
The result has been a much improved working environment and smoother lunch service with pupils now being served in just 2 sittings instead of the previous 3.
Andy Bettany advises, “The needs of a kitchen preparing healthy school meals are quite different to the school kitchens of the past which have been designed for a completely different style of cooking and in more recent kitchens all too often to simply reheat ready prepared meals. More worktop space is essential for preparation and the cooking equipment may need changing – a combi or convection oven for instance cooks food faster and more consistently compared to a traditional oven integrated into a range. Changes also have to meet the hygiene and safety requirements of a professional kitchen, such as adequate ventilation that is interlocked to safeguard the health of the catering staff”. Bettaquip can provide a complete consultancy and design service undertaking all aspects of a professional kitchen refurbishment or new build.
Download a PDF version of the case study here.
Get Emails Updates
