‘No cheeseburgers … they would go bankrupt’: pupils reject plan to cut fatty foods from lunch menus | School meals

It’s lunchtime at Richard Challoner School, a Catholic boys’ school in New Malden, southwest London. The familiar smell of school lunch begins to waft through the hallways.

In the canteen, there is a quiet moment as the kitchen team makes final preparations before the arrival of Year 7 – a mass of boys chattering and laughing, with swinging backpacks and growling empty bellies.

Everything happens so quickly. One minute there’s an orderly queue, the next they’ve made their selection, made payment and are sitting down – huddled with friends – to eat. The food disappears and they leave.

Next session comes. Bigger boys with bigger appetites. The Wednesday menu includes a main course of sausages (Cumberland pork and Glamorgan vegetarian) plus mashed potatoes, with caramelized onion gravy, roasted carrots and broccoli.

There is also a pasta dish, chicken meatballs with tomato sauce and jacket potatoes with baked beans. The “to-go” offering includes sausage baps, pepperoni panini, cheeseburger and sweet chili hash browns. There is no fried food, no candy bars, chips or soft drinks. There is, however, a well-stocked salad bar.

Dessert remains on the menu, however – there’s a scrumptious display of chocolate mousse, banoffee tart, caramelized banana cake, brownie, marshmallow sponge cake, summer berry flapjack, iced rolls, cupcakes and double chocolate muffins. Would Henry Dimbleby and Bridget Phillipson approve? Maybe not, but they look delicious.

Earlier this week, the Education Secretary revealed plans to review school food standards, as part of efforts to reduce rates of childhood obesity. Hailed by chefs and campaigners including Jamie Oliver, Emma Thompson and Dimbleby, a former government food tsar, the plan involves cutting out foods and drinks high in fat, salt and sugar and replacing them with more fruit, vegetables and whole grains.

Schools will no longer be able to offer ‘grab and go’ options like sausage rolls and pizza on a daily basis and fried foods will be completely banned. Cakes and puddings high in sugar are also at risk, with fruit being served most of the week.

Director Sean Maher bristles slightly when I outline some of the government’s proposals, now subject to a nine-week consultation. “I think it’s such a nanny. Of course, our job is to provide our students with as healthy and nutritious an offering as possible. But telling a 12-year-old, ‘I’m not going to let you have a chocolate brownie after your delicious main meal’…I mean, come on!”

“You have to offer them healthy food, but you also have to give them play time. Surely they also get a little treat? And these guys,” – he points to the kitchen staff – “also have to earn money. You have to be reasonable about that.”

Until recently the school ran its own catering, but costs increased and the school put it out to tender. They now use a catering company called Accent. Head chef Daniel Roche loves his job, he starts at 6 a.m. every morning, but says it’s difficult to do the math.

“I love cooking,” he says. “I love the staff banter and – I hope – seeing [the pupils’] happy faces. But if I were to stop everything tomorrow and only offer healthy foods, our business would be paralyzed.

7th grade students, in their first year at Richard Challoner, still benefit from the choice offered to them by the high school canteen. Daniel, 12, nibbles a pizza, followed by a flapjack. “I wouldn’t say they’re the healthiest, but they’re really good.”

What if pizza disappeared from the menu as part of the DfE elimination? “No pizza?” Daniel thinks for a moment as he continues to nibble on his slice. “I would be a little disappointed… but there are plenty of other good things.”

Theo, also 12, sitting nearby, opted for sausages and mash with extra salad, followed by a chocolate cup cake. He believes the government’s reduction in sugar and cakes is “a bit unfair.” A little harsh.” But, he adds, “I like the fact that they’re trying to make it healthier.”

Trivin, 11, eats a hamburger, alongside Ollie, 12, who eats a ham sandwich on white bread, with a cup cake. “I really like cheeseburgers,” Trivin says between bites. “These are my favorites.” He also likes cucumber and sweet corn. The carrots are too hard and the tomatoes too soft. The ketchup is delicious.

Trivin thinks his school would “go bankrupt” if it gave up cheeseburgers, cakes and pizza. “The whole place! I think people would be angry about that.”

Fraser, 16, holding up two pieces of pizza, would be “a little gutted” if it disappeared from the menu. He doesn’t like Brussels sprouts, he doesn’t like broccoli, but he likes sausage rolls.

Ethan, 15, says the food at school is tasty and healthy, but the portions are too small. He thinks they should be allowed a treat every day. “Sugars give you short-term energy to get you through the rest of the day.”

“It’s good food,” says Romelle, 16. “It’s nutritious food. It meets needs.” He would like more vegetarian options, but he thinks cutting out desserts would make meals boring. “Treats bring a bit of excitement, especially in the early years. It’s about keeping a balance.”