Cranbrook Catering

I am very excited to have joined Cranbrook School as the Chef Manager and would like to let you know a little about me and my vision for the Catering Department.

After finishing my studies in Catering and Management at West Herts College, I embarked upon a career in various areas of catering including running my own licensed business and working in high end fine dining restaurants before spending the last 14 years as Catering Manager at The Royal Masonic School for Girls in Rickmansworth.

When I discovered that Cranbrook was looking to replace its longstanding Chef last year, I saw this as an opportunity to take on a new challenge at one of the best state boarding schools in the country.  I come with a clear vision and a huge list of improvements that I want to implement and have no doubt that I have the backing of the school to really make the already very good food here better than ever.

My main ethos has firm foundations in community and sustainability.  I believe that we have a responsibility to not only feed the students but also educate them in the importance of balanced, nutritional meals.  The sourcing of all our products should be sympathetic to the environment and the local community and, we should be proud of the ingredients and the delicate way that we treat them in menus and recipes.

With this in mind, we are looking to gain accreditation from some of the most demanding organisations for the efforts we are making to improve our carbon footprint, responsible purchasing, staff welfare and waste and energy management.

We are now recognised by the Sustainable Restaurant Association and have been awarded their Food Made Good award.  This is the most globally recognised industry standard for measuring sustainability across the Hospitality Sector.

I have also reviewed our Healthy Eating policy and will be creating new and exciting menus that will exceed the governments recommendations for healthy eating in schools.  I firmly believe that good, well-balanced food is key to the successful education and development of our students.

We have totally refreshed the style of the dining hall for both breakfast and dinner to try and create a more “homely” feel for the boarders. Mood lighting, music, morning news T.V., tableware and condiments have all been added and we have more improvements planned.

I have instigated a very thorough and comprehensive training programme for all catering staff and boarding house staff to ensure that everyone involved, in any way, with delivering food to the students is included in the improvements being made and are fully up to speed with the ever-changing legislation and awareness required to maintain a safe and efficient service.

I enjoy getting to know the students and will be hold regular Food Council meetings with them to ensure that I get up to date feedback directly from our most important resource – the students.

I like to get the opportunity to introduce myself to many of the parents and please always feel welcome to come and chat if you would like to know more about our journey.

Keith Wattley – Chef Manager