The life of a chef at Moyles Court

By jnorman

HAVE you ever wondered what it would be like to be a chef for the day?

Well, I went to Moyles Court School in Ringwood for the day to see what it is like to be a chef, their routines and there day to day life.

From the moment you walk into the kitchen, you can tell that it is a well organised kitchen with a very friendly

atmosphere. Whilst watching them preparing the meals, which takes roughly 1 and a half hours to prepare depending on what the food is, banter flows and it seems like a happy environment to work in.

There are six chefs at Moyles Court and many of them have been working there for around seven to ten years. Each of them has clear instructions of what to do, and each has their own shifts. There are early shifts, middle shifts, lunch time shifts and evening shifts. There is also a schedule for at the weekend as it is also a boarding school.

The breakfast, lunch and evening menus are posted up so you can see what you will be eating during the week and then there are healthy snacks in the morning – which consists of milk and a different fruit each day for the juniors.

Menus

To see how they planned the menus, I asked if there were any guidelines and restrictions as to what they could choose, and to my surprise there were many.

First of all, you have to make sure none of the children are allergic to the foods. Then there are limitations as to what you are allowed to serve. Cakes and biscuits are only to be provided at lunchtimes as part of the meal; deep fried foods should not be provided more than twice per week and starchy foods cooked in oil should also not be given more than three times a week.

Budgets are also a consideration as you only get a set amount of money and then everything has to be inputted onto a computer. There is also lots of e-numbers in most foods and drinks, so you have to choose wisely. The catering manager tries to source up to 90% of the ingredients locally, using organic providers wherever possible. The amount of calories in each meal also needs to be carefully thought about as there are different amounts you're allowed to have per meal depending on your age and gender. When you see the restrictions you realise that there is a lot of variety here at the Moyles Court kitchen.

Skills

In addition, there is a lot of other things you need to know before you become a chef, and that's not just how to cook. Obviously, you need cooking skills; you need hygiene training, to know about food poisoning, about the safety aspects in the kitchen and how to use the utensils, laws and legislation – the safety acts, temperature control, about food borne diseases and food prevention. There's a lot more than you'd expect!

Moyles Court Kitchen is a very well run place. There is a lot of care, creativity and variety which goes into the food that appeals to the pupils which results in excellent school meals.

Lauren Medcraff