Norse Catering has just finished running a series of roadshows, aimed at talking directly to it’s team of cook managers, dining assistants and mobile staffworking in Primary Schools across the county.
Eight events, entitled the’ Norse Primary Catering Roadshows’, addressed a wide range of opportunities and challenges affecting the company’s staff who are employed at Primary Schools across the county, as part the contract with Norfolk County Council.
A total of over 330 staff attended the two-hour long presentations and discussions, covering topics that included new menu plans, changes to account management structure, new uniform options, updates to the quality manual to reflect the revised standards set by Environmental Health and an open forum on ‘wish lists’ and ‘ideas exchanges’ from attendees.
“We have a great team of really hard-working staff out there in Primary School kitchens,” said Terrance Issac-Griffiths, Head of Catering Operations at Norse Commercial Services. “We wanted a chance to let them know first-hand about some of the exciting plans we’ve got for Primary School meals, and to hear their views and feedback on a wide range of issues that affect their working day and environment.”
“Because we’ve got over 300 schools spread all across the county, a series of roadshows at different locations looked to be the best was to give as many as possible the chance to attend, and the feedback we’ve had confirms this. “
Part of the feedback process involved building an ‘ideas wall’: participants wrote actions they would like taken, and ideas that have worked for them, onto sheets of paper that were attached to boxes which were then built into a wall for all to see and discuss.
“This worked really well,” commented Commercial Director Mark Emms, “there were some great ideas that staff have found to work well and they wanted to share with others, and some clearly thought out suggestions for improving and developing various aspects of our service.”
The catering team are also looking at ways of engaging more with the schools children and parents by introducing cooking related activities and displays. “We are planning recipe cards that they can take home, displays of fresh food and herbs at the serving areas to stimulate questions, and incentives that will reward the children for taking an interest in food,” said Senior Account Manager Linda Bufton.
Norse helps schools aiming for Food for Life Awards with skill development and food education; currently there are 55 Primary Schools in Norfolk with the Bronze Award and six who have achieved Silver status.
