I’m a school dinner lady AMA

[ImADinnerLady]

We know MN love a good lunch box policy thread, so ask away.

Do you get to know the kids, and do you have your favourites?

Is the food something you feel happy to serve?

And finally, do you resent Jamie Oliver?

I’m only there a little over an hour, but yes I get to know the kids, mainly the early years ones as they need the most attention.

Don’t have favourites, but I do have a few which I’m not keen on as they’re rude towards the dinner ladies and kitchen staff.

Some of the food is ok, the puddings are lacking in taste. The cakes have to fat to bind them, so they’re dry and tasteless.

Jamie Oliver doesn’t bother me one jot.

Ooohhh I need to be on this thread.
So my LO is going into reception.
Do you encourage the kids to eat their school dinners or would you allow them to eat none?
Do you cut up food for them?
Do they have many accidents carrying their trays over to their tables?
Do you provide a drink with school dinners?
Thank you!

Are you really called a dinner lady? Round here the title has been 'lunchtime supervisor' for a few decades.

They’re encouraged to at least try their dinner, I don’t insist they eat it all. A dinner usually has three elements (protein, carb, veg), as long as one of those elements is eaten, I’m happy.

Yes we cut food up, even pizza

They get offered water with their food, sometimes milk.

My official title is lunchtime supervisor, the children call me a dinner nanny though.

I'm a midday supervisor too but don't want to butt into someone else's thread. I'm just really interested in the answers!

Do you ever see kids that are routinely very hungry and perhaps don't get fed much outside of school?

do you still make that lovely cornflake cake though i did have this in the 70s

Do you encourage them to use their knives and forks correctly?
Do they pour their own drinks?
Are the newest ones helped to choose their food.
I think it would take my LO about 10 mins to decide what to have?

Do you cook onsite?

How healthy is the food?

Sadly, there are a few kids that we have raised concern about over the years, usually those on packed lunch rather than school dinners though.

No cornflake cake I’m afraid.

Our food is cooked on site. Wouldn’t say it’s necessarily healthy, most of it’s frozen or out a packet.

There isn’t enough time to make sure each child is using cutlery properly.
Drinks are prepoured for the younger ones.
Food is chosen in the morning so the cook knows how much to prepare. The younger ones parents choose theirs so they get something theyre likely to eat.

Why do some schools (eg my DC’s school) reward them for eating all their dinner? Isn’t that teaching bad attitudes to food? We have a rule at home that you eat until you are full and then you stop, so it’s ok to leave food.

I find it annoying enough to watch my own DC chew with their mouth open / lick food on the plate / nibble at food off a fork etc etc and to nag them to have better table manners. How can you bear watching whole room of small children and their disgusting table manners?! I think that’s my idea of hell!

We used to do stickers for clear plates, but the new head teacher stopped it as it wasn’t a healthy image of eating. I agree with her.

We don’t have time to watch kids eat, it’s really busy as the kids eat in their year groups and not all at once. I can’t stand the sound of chewing, and I don’t notice it, it’s too noisy with talking.

My DS used to love the butterscotch tart that was on the winter menu of his primary school. He’s 15 now and still talks of it fondly and would like me to make one. I don’t suppose you have a recipe? Course I’m assuming your school does butterscotch tart.

Do you still save leftovers for kids who don't get fed at home? I remember this happening when I was a child (I once ate seven spare yogurts after my lunch)

Nope, no butterscotch tart.

Leftovers aren’t saved. I do offer fruit or bread to those who don’t seem to have enough food.

Why did you choose this job? Do you not mind the strange mid of the day two hours per day job? Would you not prefer something like 8 hours a day once or twice a week instead. Do you have other jobs or are you doing it for pocket money? You must live walking distance to make it worth your while??

Deux -there are various recipes on the Internet. Some aree a bit too 'posed up', you have to look hard for a school dinner basic. Our school cook sold printed copies of the recipe at the school fete sadly I don't know where mine is. But it did include a tiny bottle of very strong butterscotch drops from a specialist cake shop.

I chose it purely to give me something for myself. I’m a carer for my disabled child, and that takes up a lot of headspace, so took the job to occupy my mind as can’t work the school holidays or outside of school hours. The time of day does sometimes bother me, especially when I have a lot to do at home, but it’s not like I can change it.

It’s not my dream job, I find some of the teachers look down their noses at you, but they don’t know why Im working such a low level job. I’m quite intelligent, great GCSEs, A levels and almost finished a nursing degree, but life deals you a shitty hand sometimes, and you’ve got to take what you can.

Thanks for answering and i hope you find your dream job.

My son is starting reception in Sept, and I have signed him up for school dinners

If he suddenly gets very fussy and doesn't eat much, how long will they let him carrying on trying before I should switch to packed lunch?

(I found at nursery, he ate what he was given because there was nothing else unlike at home so hoping it'll be ok! This is the only thing about him starting full time school that worries me which I know is silly)

In NZ we don't have kitchens in schools and all children need to come with a packed lunch.
a lot of kids aren't able to bring lunch due to financial problems at home and end up with nothing or a charity provides their lunch.
Do you think that you are a vital service to some kids who may not get a hot meal if it weren't for you?

I’d give him at least a term to get used to the food. There is always a sandwich or jacket potato option, so usually something most kids like.

We don’t know who is on free meals and who pays, so hard to say. I’d like to think those who need fed are getting fed. The reality is that those who need the free meals aren’t entitled to them as their parents earn just over the threshold.

It’s colder - thanks I’ll have a look. I did search a few years ago and DS said none of the pictures I showed him resembled the delight of the school butterscotch tart. They were all too fancy; pastry lattice. My friend did get the recipe as it was legendary locally but she too can’t find hers.

I may ask on the Michelin starred chef AMA.