Free School Meals – thanks to Convotherm Mini

14th October 2011, 12:30pm

When Durham Council won the right to be one of just two councils across the country to trial free school meals for all primary school pupils, they were faced with a logistical problem - How would schools that previously had 50 pupils having school meals be able to upscale their output to 200 plus?

Working in partnership with nominated contract caterer Taylor Shaw, the council approached Manitowoc Premier Partner, Howell Cummings with a brief that seemed impossible to fulfil.

Managing Director Tom Cummings explains: "We were asked to increase the production capacity of a small school kitchen four fold. We had no extra space, the equipment had to work off a normal 13 amp supply, and there would be no extraction on site. It has to be said that it looked a big challenge."

Howell Cummings researched the market and soon realised the Convotherm Mini Mobile could be just what the council needed. They put the oven to trial in 6 schools, one of which was the St Charles School in Spennymoor, where Catering Manager Lesley Wilkinson was initially quite dismissive when the oven arrived: "My first reaction was that it was no bigger than a microwave and what on earth did they expect me to do with it. However, after training it soon became clear the Convotherm was the catering version of a tardis.

"I use it for everything from rice, pasta and jacket potatoes through to chicken goujons, fish cakes and roast joints. In fact most of what we prepare goes through the oven. It has become the hub of the kitchen."

Critically, it also fulfilled the objectives, as Lesley continues: "We went from preparing 84 school meals to 186 with the same 4 staff and no other additional equipment. And, I would actually say, it is now easier than it was before."