School pupils to feast on potatoes

School cooks across the country are being offered new inspiration for using potatoes on healthy menus for children – following an initiative between Potato Council and the School Food Trust.

The partnership between the two organisations has resulted in four new potato-based recipe ideas being rolled out to 22,000 schools in England, and aims to provide creative and appealing ways to include potatoes on school lunch menus.

A number of recipes were kitchen tested by two secondary schools¹, before being modified following feedback from school cooks and students, and nutritionally analysed. The four favourites are now being distributed with full cooking instructions, variety suggestions and complete nutritional breakdowns, via the Trusts Cook for Success quarterly newsletter to school cooks.

The four potato recipes are:

• Fiery Potatoes (accompaniment)
• Potato and Pea Curry (vegetarian main meal)
• Mediterranean Fish Pie with Creamy Herby Mash (main meal)
• Fully Loaded Potato Skins (hot grab and go option)

An additional 1,000 copies of the designed A4 recipe sheet have been produced and are available for industry to use and pass onto schools or local authority catering contacts.

Caroline Evans, Potato Council head of marketing and corporate affairs, said: Were delighted to be working with the School Food Trust to increase the number of potato-based options on school menus. Potatoes are an important part of balanced diets; providing many essential nutrients for growing children and are a great source of energy. Equally they are a low-cost kitchen ingredient and play an important role helping caterers meet strict budget and nutritional guidelines.

These new recipes, which have been developed to specifically appeal to the target audience, will help us to build a real affinity between children and potatoes at an early age, helping to encourage positive eating habits which have the potential to remain with them into adulthood. This will benefit the long-term outlook for the industry.

The School Food Trusts research and nutrition senior manager, Patricia Mucavele said: We include healthy recipe ideas for school cooks in every edition of Cook for Success, and these new twists on a school meals staple will offer some great inspiration for cooks planning new menus.

Research proves that school meals help children to try new dishes and broaden their food horizons, so sharing new menu tips and ideas is really important.

For copies of the recipe sheet contact Potato Council marketing marketing@potato.org.uk

 

¹ The recipes were cooked and taste tested at Little Ilford School in partnership with Newham Catering Services and George Dixon International School in partnership with Cityserve Direct Services.

Potato Council, supporting the potato industry, is funded by potato growers, purchasers and processors. Potato Council is a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (www.ahdb.org.uk).

The School Food Trust is a national charity and specialist advisor to Government on school meals, childrens food and family cooking skills. Our vision is that all children are able to have a balanced diet for good health and well-being, and that they get the cooking skills and food education that will help them reach their full potential as adults.

The Trust works with local authorities and thousands of schools to help them implement the changes needed and find practical solutions that will help them improve their school meals service day-to-day. For more information, visit www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk.