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Simon Donohue joins pupils at St Aidans RC Primary School in Northern Moor, Sale, for lunch
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School dinners with class
Simon Donohue7/ 9/2008
MY abiding memory of primary school dinners was avoiding the sick-like semolina pudding at all costs and instead asking the server for "just jam".
That delicious dollop of shiny strawberry goo told you pretty much everything that was wrong with school meals in the 1970s - a lack of choice, dinners designed by adults for kids' tastebuds, and kids with no awareness of the nutritional value of anything.
Chips and gravy pickled in vinegar, mud-like liver and onions, flourescent pink custard - everyone has their own version of school canteen heaven and hell.
If my experience feeds anything to those who organise today's school meal service, it's that parents have always wanted the best for their kids, kids have always wanted something else, and dinner ladies have had a devil of a job keeping anybody happy.
The issue reached critical mass - not to mention mass awareness - when Jamie Oliver started his healthy school dinners crusade three years ago.
His mission, to "ban the junk in schools and get kids eating fresh, tasty nutritious food instead", had good intentions.
But it backfired to a certain extent. The shock of seeing chips and turkey twizzlers stripped from the menu frightened kids and led their parents to begin feeding junk food through the school railings rather than have their little Jimmy and Jemima go hungry.
Perversely, some parents assumed that Jamie's campaign had discovered poor standards in all schools, and switched their kids to sandwiches, even though many school meal services were already pretty good.
The "Oliver effect"
Manchester was one of the citties which experienced a dip in school meal numbers as a result of the Oliver-effect, even though it was already serving nutritious food.
The good news for parents as children return to school is that the good intentions of Jamie Oliver, school kids and mass caterers finally appear to have aligned.
Now they're all eating from the same menu, so to speak, and even youngsters are growing up aware of the importance of a well-balanced and nutritionally sound diet.
The colourful dining hall at St Aidan's Catholic Primary School, in Rackhouse Road, Northern Moor demonstrates just how much things have changed from the days when kids were asked to like or lump semolina.
St Aidan's is one of 25 schools serviced by Manchester Fayre - Manchester city council's contracted caterer - with a new concept Fresh Fayre meals service.
For £1.86 a day, youngsters are given a certain amount of choice about what they eat for lunch, with options considered less healthy - chips and burgers - rationed to only once a week or fortnight.
I'm here on the first day of the new school term to sample what's on offer.
I suppose that choice and the dayglo prison-style trays are the most significant change.
I can opt for something from the Sandwich Station - tuna, cheese, turkey, egg mayonnaise, ham - and whether I eat it on white or brown bread, or in the form of a tortilla wrap.
The child in me can't resist going for the egg mayonnaise butty with strips of carrot - on both white and brown bread. Mmm, it's good.
If I don't fancy a sandwich, I can either opt for something from the Pasta Point - pasta shells with tomato sauce today - or the Cook's Choice, which is sausages and vegetables.
I try them all - veggie sausage and meat - and can report that they're all far more appetising than soggy cabbage and watery mash.
There's also a choice of jacket potato at the Spud Spot, while kids are free to choose from a salad bar - carrot strips seem to be a popular choice - and a number of dessert options, including yoghurt, a piece of fruit or a muffin.
My fellow diners and I really enjoy the food on offer - even if there are no dollops of jam on the menu!
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